
Class __J[..^1_611 

Book .T3 

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CHARLOHE SUPI 

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Everything in Mill Supplies 



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Gives even tension full length of rail traverse. 

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OUR NEW HOPPER 



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COTTON MILL 
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CARDING AND SPINNING 



A BOOK FOR 
PRACTICAL MILL MEN 



BY 

G. F. IVEY, 

Author of "Loom Fixing and Weaving." 



5 • • -J > » 
> 3 3) 

3 > !) 3 ) 1 



) } > } 



Published by 
G. F. IVEY & CO., HICKORY, N. C. 

Printed by Edwards & Broughton, Raleigh, N. C. 



LIBRARY ni CONGRESS 
Two Cooies Received 
JUL 1904 

(' Oooyrfifht Entry 
CLASS (I XXo. No. 
COPY B / 



Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1904, by 

G. F. IVEY, 
in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



c c c c c c « , 



H 



^ 



n^o^ 



PREFACE. 

Several years ago I published a book called 
"Loom-Fixing and Weaving," which treated the 
subject in a thoroughly practical manner. This 
book has been very favorably received, and the 
secon4 edition is now almost exhausted. From 
time to time I have received many inquiries for a 
book on carding and spinning, written on the 
same general lines, but no such book could be 
found. To fill this demand, the present work 
has been written, and if by simply being read it 
imparts information which has been acquired by 
many years experience, the object of the writer 
has been attained. 

Believing that no one man possesses all of the 
knowledge available on the subject, I have had 
assistance from some of the best mill men in the 
country, among whom are Mr. Eben Willey, Al- 
lenton, E. I., and Mr. H. D. Martin, Fall River, 
Mass. 

G. F. IVEY. 

Hickory, N. C, July, 1904. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. — Cotton, Varieties of Cotton. Classification 
of Cotton. Cotton Futures. Speculation. Ginning. 
Saw and Roller Gins. Egyptian and Sea Island Cotton. 

CHAPTER II. — Bale Breakers. Mixing. Openers. Split 
Laps. Poor Help. Excessive Breakages. Excessive 
Waste. Fires. Uneven Laps. Calculations. Draft. 
Production. General Information. 

CHAPTER III.— Cards. Card Setting. Uniform Carding. Cyl- 
inders Rubbing. Cloudy or Uneven Carding. Electricity. 
Fires. Draft. Production. Constants. Table of Draft 
Constants for Different makes of Cards. General In- 
formation about Cards. Drawing Frames. Setting the 
Rollers. Irregular or Cut Drawing. Varnish for Rol- 
lers. Production. Draft. Tables of Production and Draft 
Constants. Draft with Metallic Rollers. General In- 
formation about Drawing Frames. Sliver Lap Ma- 
chines. Calculations and General Information. Calcu- 
lations and Information for Ribbon Lap Machines. 
Combers. Waste in Combers. Settings for Combers 
of Different Makes. Draft and Production. General 
Information. 

CHAPTER IV. — Numbering of Cotton Yarn. Tables for 
numbering Yam and Roving. Slubbers and Fly Frames 
Generally. Tavist of Roving. Draft. Other Calcula- 
tions. Table of Draft, Twist, Lay and Tension Con- 
stants. Cut or Uneven Roving. Tangled Bobbins. Ends 
Slacking Down. Hard Ends. Black Oil. Clearer 
Waste in Roving. General Information. 

CHAPTER V. — Ring Spinning. Spinning Frames Com- 
pared with Mules. Draft and Twist. Table of Draft 
and Twist Constants for five Different Makes of Ma- 
chines. Production Tables. Strength of Yarn. Ex- 
cessive Draft. Excessive Speed. Cut Yarn. Bunchy 
or Lumpy Yarn. Cockley Yarn. Ends Running Bad. 
Waste. Bobbins Wound too Low. Soft Bobbins and 
Soft Nose Bobbins. General Information. 



12 Contents. 

CHAPTER VI. — Mule Spinning. Development of the Mule. 
The Various Motions Described. Draft and Twist. 
Rules for Calculating Draft and Twist. Tables of 
Production. Mule Cop Building. Bad Cop Noses. Cut 
Yarn. Squaring the Carriage. Mules for Fine Yam. 
General Information. 

CHAPTER VII. — The Spooler. Production and Speed of 
Spoolers. Proper Size of Spools. Big Ended Spools. 
General Information. Twisters. Twist of Twisted 
Yam. Productionof Twisters. Lean Yam. Single and 
Double Yam. Fuzzy Yarn. Cork-Screw Yarn. Slack 
Twisted Yam. Reels. Production of Reels. Loose 
Ends. Tangled Skeins. Packing Yam. ' 

CHAPTER VIII.— Warpers. Beam Warpers. Weight of 
Yarn on Beams. Unequal Lengths. Excessive Break- 
ing of Ends. Selvage Piled Up. Production. General 
Information. The Denn Warper. Production. Stop 
Motion not Acting. Slack Ends. Tight Water Bands. 
Broken Ends. The Cone-Winder. Production Tables. 
Defects in Hosiery Yam. Long Knots. Bunchy Yam. 
General Information. 

CHAPTER IX. — The Manufacture of Fine Yarn. Selecting 
Cotton. Pickers. Reducing Speed. Carding. Twist for 
Fine Work. Drawing Frames. The Flyers, Traverse 
and Rollers. The Tension. Overseers and Help. Creel- 
ing Roving. Contraction in Twisting. Spindle Bands. 
Rings and Traverse. Easy Drafts. Importance of 
Cleanliness. 



Carding and Spinning. 



CHAPTER I. 



Cotton. 

It is not the intention of the writer to discuss 
this question exhaustively, as it is not in the 
province of this book. "The Student's Cotton 
Spinner," by Nasmith, devotes over 80 pages to 
this subject, and the reader will find it treated in 
a very interesting and instructive manner. 

There are nearly fifty varieties of cotton, but in 
the United States very little attention is paid to 
this fact. An increasing amount of Egyptian 
cotton is used in this country, principally for 
making fine hosiery yarn. It is also found that 
Egyptian is an excellent variety for mercerizing, 
and a good deal is used for this purpose. 

American cotton is classed as follows, the first 
named being the best: 

Fair. 

Strict middling fair. 
Middling Fair. 

Strict good middling. 
Good Middling. 

Strict middling. 



14 Carding and Spinning. 

Middling. 

Strict low middling. 
Low Middling. 

Strict good ordinary. 
Good Ordinary. 

Strict ordinary. 
Ordinary. 

The grades in capital letters are known as full 
grades, and those with the prefix "Strict" as half- 
grades. Besides these, there are quarter grades 
known by the prefixes "Barely" and "Fairly." 
These quarter grades are very seldom used in 
classifying. Contrary to general belief, the 
grade is not affected by the length of staple. 
Both the length and staple are used in designa- 
ting a particular kind of cotton, and we speak of 
inch and an eighth strict middling Mississippi 
cotton. Tinges and stains are terms frequently 
used in cotton reports, and usually belong under 
the lowest classification. 

The grades mentioned above are for American 
cotton only, and for the United States only. 
The Liverpool Exchange has a different classifi- 
cation from this, and also a different one for Bra- 
zillian, Egyptian, or Indian cotton. 

When cotton is spoken of in the cotton market, 
the Middling grade is meant, and the cotton con- 
tracts, or futures, call for this grade, although a 
better or a poorer grade may be delivered at a 
proportionate price. As a matter of fact, how- 



Carding and Spinning. J.5 

ever, hardly one per cent of the cotton bought and 
sold on the New Orleans or New York Exchange 
is ever delivered. At or before the time of deliv- 
ery the buyer or seller simply makes good the dif- 
ference between the contract price and the price 
then current. In other words, the transactions 
are gambling pure and simply, and without 
doubt these transactions are largely responsible 
for the present inflated price of cotton (March, 
1904) . However, these contracts can be used for 
legitimate purposes. For instance, a mill man 
sells 100,000 or 500,000 pounds of yarn at a price 
he knows will bring him a fair profit at present 
price of cotton. He does not know, however, 
that cotton will remain at this figure, and to in- 
sure this profit, he must buy the cotton. Under 
any condition, and especially if cotton is 15 cents 
a pound, it would take an immense amount of 
money to buy the cotton, and a good deal to store 
and insure it. He can therefore purchase the 
cotton he needs for future delivery, paying only 
the nominal sum of |1.00 a bale. When the ac- 
tual cotton is used it is generally bought at home, 
and the contract representing this cotton sold at 
New York. While this method is legitimate, 
and presents many advantages, there is no deny- 
ing that the ease with which a contract may be 
bought and sold is a temptation for speculation, 
which not many can resist, and on the whole, the 
method does more harm than good. 



16 Carding and Spinning. 

Ginning. — Briefly stated, a modern cotton gin 
consists of a number of circular saws, from 60 
to 90, about 10 inches in diameter, all on one 
shaft. These saws are about one-half inch apart, 
the space between them being filled by metal fin- 
gers. When the gin is in operation, the teeth of 
the saws, which are very fine, seize the fibers of 
cotton and carry the whole mass towards the 
fingers. These are too close to the saws to allow 
the seed to go through. The fibers are there- 
fore torn from the seed, and are taken off the 
saws by a brush and blown to any convenient 
point. The cotton gin, except in matters of de- 
tail, is exactly what it was sixty years ago. If 
it had developed in the same proportion as other 
cotton machinery, the spinner would certainly 
have less cause to complain, for there is no doubt 
that the rough treatment cotton receives does the 
fibers great injury. Not only are they badly 
broken, but the shorter fibers are rolled in little 
balls, which it is almost impossible to get out, 
especially in long-staple cotton. 

Egyptian cotton, and the best Sea Island, is 
not ginned with a saw gin, but with what is 
known as a knife, or roller gin. In this process 
the fibers are held firmly by rollers and revolving 
or oscillating knives scrape the seed away. This 
is an expensive method, but incomparably supe- 
rior to the other. 



Carding and Spinning. 17 



CHAPTER II. 



Opening and Picking. 

Strictly speaking, ginning is not considered a 
part of cotton manufacturing, although many 
mills in the South operate gins in connection 
with their mills. The first process which claims 
our attention is opening. In the United States 
this is generally done by hand. The bagging is 
removed from the bales, perhaps a dozen at one 
time, and the cotton is piled in successive layers 
until the whole has been distributed. Other bales 
are then opened and piled on top of the first. It 
is considered good practice to open as many as 
the space will allow, and to feed from the face 
of the pile rather than from the top, so as to get 
part of each bale. This practice is of much more 
importance in England than in this country, for 
here we are much more likely to get a large quan- 
tity of cotton from the same locality, and pos- 
sessing practically the same characteristics; but 
even here there are advantages derived from this 
method. It has become the custom in recent 
mill construction to have the opening room in 
the cotton warehouse, and blow or rather suck 
the cotton to the mill building. This saves haul- 
ing the cotton to the mill, and has other advan- 
tages, especially for a large plant. For a small 

2 



18 Carding and Spinning. 

mill, or one on fine numbers, and therefore using 
but little cotton, it is of no practical benefit, as 
it requires the attention of two men where only 
one is needed by the old method. 

In England the common practice is to use a 
bale-breaker for opening the cotton. This is a 
machine with four sets of large rollers with very 
coarse fiutes, or short spikes. The catton in large 
armsfull is fed to this machine, and as there is 
a draft, of say two, between each set of rollers, it 
is thoroughly torn up by the time it gets through. 
There is now an improved bale-breaker on the 
market, manufactured both by Howard and Bul- 
lough, and Dobson and Barlow, known as the 
HoiDper Bale-Breaker. It is similar to the older 
style, except that it has a hopper instead of a 
lattice. Two men can put half a bale of com- 
pressed cotton in the hopper at a time, and in 
less than five minutes it will be broken in fine 
flakes, and done much better than by hand. One 
of these machines can easily open 50 or 60 bales 
a day, and do it thoroughly. These machines 
will probably soon come into general use in the 
larger mills. 

The cotton does not go direct from this ma- 
chine to the hopper of the opener, but by an in- 
clined lattice it is distributed on the mixing pile 
from which it is fed by hand. 

Openers. — A great many mill men are not so 
young but that they remember when cotton was 



Carding and Spinning. 19 

fed entirely by hand. The lattice on which four 
laps are now placed, was marked off in sections 
of a yard each. A man would weigh a pound of 
cotton and distribute it as evenly as possible on 
this yard. While it was being fed he would weigh 
another pound, and so on indefinitely. For prob- 
ably fifteen years the hopper feed has been al- 
most universally used. It must not be taken for 
granted that because this machine is automatic, 
it will feed a uniform quantity regardless of the 
amount the hopper contains, and it is best to keep 
it from one-half to three-quarters full. 

So far as the writer is aware, no American 
builder makes an opener with other than a 
horizontal beater. In England practically all 
openers have perpendicular beaters. These are 
known as Crighton openers, and have conical 
beaters, which revolve about 900 times a minute. 
The cotton is fed at the bottom, and is withdrawn 
at the top by a current of air in the usual man- 
ner. The only advantage, which in some cases 
may be considerable, which we see in this ar- 
rangement, is that as the beater is entirely sur- 
rounded by grids, the dirt will have a much bet- 
ter chance to be beaten through, than in the 
American machine where there is less than half 
the grid surface. 

From the opener the cotton is sucked to the 
next machine, where it is formed into a lap. This 
may be done on the same machine, and as there 



20 Carding and Spinning. . 

is an almost unlimited number of combinations 
of beaters, it is impossible to say exactly where 
the next machine begins. However, it is be- 
coming more and more common to have the next 
machine — known as a lapper or picker, and in 
England as a scutcher — connected with the 
opener by a cleaning trunk. This may be 10 feet 
long, but in some cases it is 50. It is of great 
service if kept properly clean, but we see no es- 
pecial benefit to be derived from the extreme 
lengths. It is customary to have three of these 
pickers, known as the breaker (a misleading 
term), intermediate and finisher. In some cases 
the intermediate is being omitted, and in all cases 
where extra long cotton is used, as the less this 
is beaten the fewer fibres are broken. 

TROUBLES ABOUT THE PICKER ROOM. 

Split Laps. — One cause of split laps, where the 
trouble only occurs occasionally, is too much 
waste in the mixing. This waste having been 
worked, has had the fibers all straightened out, 
and therefore there is not the same tendency to 
stick together as in raw cotton. Experience has 
taught us that where the mill is large enough to 
produce waste in sufficient quantity, it is best to 
run it separately and make laps of it. One of 
these waste laps is put on the apron of the inter- 
mediate, and the four laps run while this one is 
on the machine, containing one-fourth waste, are 



Carding and Spinning. 21 

laid aside, and only one at a time is used on the 
finishing lapper. The resultant laps have only 
one-sixteenth waste, or 6 per cent. By using 
this we know that the waste is evenly mixed, and 
we do not know it if it is put in the mixing hap- 
hazard. In many mills waste is never used in 
the mixing for warp yarn, bat for the filling only. 

Another cause of split laps is too much fric- 
tion on the horse-head. This may occur on ac- 
count of the weather, or the picker -hand may put 
soap or belt grease on the friction strap in order 
to make a nice, compact lap. 

Probably the most fruitful cause of split laps 
is that the suction through both cages is equal, 
or nearly so. This causes the cotton to be mat- 
ted in two sheets, with very little to hold them 
together. The remedy is simple. All modern 
lappers have dampers, so that the draft from each 
cage may be regulated. Arrange these so that 
the greater part of the draft is from the top cage, 
and the defect is generally overcome. Some- 
times a careless operator allows the cages and 
air passages to become choked with waste or 
sand, and the draft not operating properly, trou- 
ble results. Occasionally the same trouble oc- 
curs by the air pipe leading from the fan becom- 
ing choked, and as they are often hard to get at, 
the trouble is consequently hard to discover and 
remedy. There is a certain patent arrangement 
by means of which tongues of leather or tin are 



22 Carding and Spinning. 

placed so as to almost feed into the bite of the 
cages. We fail to see, however, where the effi- 
ciency comes in. 

Poor Help, — The troubles in many picker rooms 
are caused primarily by poor help. Many man- 
agers fail to realize the importance of this depart- 
ment, and think any green hand will do. In fact, 
it is usually considered the job for an unskilled 
man, and there are dozens of men throughout the 
country who apply for work, stating that they are 
picker-hands, who perhaps never worked a month 
in that department. On account of the isolated 
character of the work it is especially desirable to 
have a man in charge who can be relied on to tell 
the truth, and do what he is told to do without 
being watched. When a picker-man is told to 
weigh every lap and record the weight, also 
marking it on the end of the lap with colored 
chalk, many will do the recording all right, but 
will neglect the weighing. 

Excessive Breakages. — As a breakdown in the 
picker-room often stops the whole mill, they 
should be especially guarded against. In this 
connection, what is said above in regard to poor 
help is especially applicable. Breakdowns are 
caused by insufficient oiling and cleaning, over 
feeding, allowing the machine to run too long 
after being choked, machines out of level, or im- 
properly balanced beaters or fans. A very fre- 
quent cause of breakdowns is not watching the 



Carding and Spinning. 23 

gears closely enough, and allowing them to run 
without being in gear deep enough. 

A beater which runs hot as the result of not 
being oiled, or from some unknown cause, can be 
frequently remedied by simply turning it end for 
end. 

On the Atherton picker, the fast-running gear 
which runs the bottom cone frequently breaks or 
wears out, especially the intermediate gear. In 
an emergency a 1^-inch belt will do the work un- 
til a new gear can be secured. 

Excessive Waste. — This is caused by having the 
grid bars set improperly. If they are set too far 
apart, or too far from the beater, the waste will 
be excessive. There may also be too great a 
space between the feed roller and the first bar. 
In setting the grids, always bear in mind that a 
system of grids could be devised so that there 
^/ould be no waste at all. Also remember that if 
they are set too near the beater the fibers will be 
injured. The air flues may be choked with waste, 
causing back pressure, or there may be an insuf- 
ficient area in the flues or chimneys. In either 
case the back pressure will force the good cotton 
through the grids into the mote box. 

Fires. — Of course any one who works about a 
mill knows that fire is more likely to occur in a 
picker-room than anywhere else about the mill. 
For this reason all kinds of precautions are taken 
to guard against it. It is generally in the opener 



24 Carding and Spinning. 

where the fire starts, but as it is directly connect- 
ed with the next machine, it takes but a second 
to communicate to it. Where the pickers are in a 
separate room, the fire does little damage to 
them, although the opening room may be practi- 
cally destroyed. The writer was once connected 
with a mill where fires occurred in the opener 
almost every day. The machine was carefully 
examined, and no hot bearings were found, neith- 
er was the feed roller too near the beater. It 
was finally noticed that occasionally sparks 
would be knocked through the grids. Although 
the beaters did not touch the rollers by three- 
eighths of an inch, they were separated still far- 
ther and the trouble was over. All this oc- 
curred a good many years ago, but a satisfactory 
explanation has never been given. 

The chief trouble with fire is that if it does not 
get out of the machine, it melts the solder of the 
cages and chars and roughens the interior of the 
cleaning trunks. Often for hours, and perhaps 
for days, after the fire, the cotton is inclined to 
choke in the trunks. If they are not fire-proof, it 
is sometimes desirable to make them so by lining 
with tin, lapped as on fire doors. Where the 
wood is charred, about the best thing to do is to 
make a brush of card clothing and scour it out, 
afterward using powdered soap-stone or graphite 
freely. When a fire occurs, it is not best to stop 
the whole machine, but the feed only, and the 



CxiKDING AND SPINNING. 25 

cotton is soon all burned out. If the machine Is 
stopped, the screens are almost sure to be badly 
damaged. A chemical fire extinguisher is a valu- 
able adjunct to a picker-room. A pipe for live 
steam with outside valve is more effective than 
many sprinklers, especially if the room can be 
tightly closed. This applies to the opening-room 
rather than to the picking-room proper. 

In a mill where there is but one set of pickers, 
and the opener is put out of business several 
hours, or perhaps days, it is not necessary to stop 
the mill, for the cotton may be fed by hand to the 
next machine and the mill kept running. 

Uneven Laps. — Years ago a lap which was with- 
in one pound of the required weight was consid- 
ered near enough. Three years ago the require- 
ments had become more strict, and laps that were 
over one-half pound out were run again. Now, 
in some mills, one-half pound is considered too 
wide a variation. If the machine is pushed for 
production, the light laps may be run at the same 
time as the heavy ones, and fairly satisfactory re- 
sults obtained. The evening motion should be 
adjusted so that the belt is not in the center, but 
nearer the small end of the driving cone. It is 
probable that one lap on the apron may run out^ 
but not at all probable that an extra one will be 
put on, and room should be allowed for the belt to 
shift enough to increase the speed of the feed 
mechanism in order to compensate for this loss. 



26 Carding and Spinning. 

Assuming that the evener is properly adjusted 
to begin with, the lack of attention in the way of 
cleaning and oiling will cause uneven laps sooner 
than any other cause. Pickers should be cleaned 
often, and the overseer should personally inspect 
them to see that it is done properly. The cages 
should be kept clean, or they will soon choke up 
around the ends. The apron must be kept at 
the proper tension, or it will sometimes slip and 
cause a thin place in the work. Another cause 
of uneven work is electricity. If it is present, it 
causes halts and dwells in the passage of the 
stock, and uneven laps are the result. The rem- 
edy is to have the room warm and sufficiently 

moist. 

calculations. 

The only calculations about a picker are draft, 
speed and production. Even these are not often 
necessary, as the pickers are always set with a 
draft of about four, and there is very seldom any 
occasion to change it. We might give the calcu- 
lations necessary to calculate the draft, but do 
not think the benefit derived would compensate 
for the space required. The speed, too, is a con- 
stant factor, and does not need changing unless 
the staple of cotton is changed, as long-stapled 
cotton should receive more gentle treatment than 
short. 

A calculation is often given to show the length 
of laps. We do not give it here for the reason 



Carding and Spinning. 27 

that the calculated length is never the actual 
length. There is a slight draft between the cal- 
ender rollers, and the pressure tends to stretch 
the lap and make it longer. This stretch is not a 
constant quantity, but varies with the weight of 
the lap. It may be said in general terms to be 
from 2 to 4 per cent. Laps are usually made 
about fifty yards long, but it is best to unroll one 
and measure its exact length. This must be 
known at least approximately, in order to get the 
weight per yard, and this is necessary in order 
to calculate what the weight of the card sliver 
will be. If, for instance, a lap is 48 yards long, 
and weighs 36 pounds, or 36 X 16 = 576 ounces, 
one yard will weigh 576 -^ 48 = 12, and the lap 
is known as a 12-ounce lap. 

When the laps are light it is desirable to have 
them longer than 50 yards, and by increasing the 
size of nthe knock-off gear, or decreasing that of 
its driver, this may be readily done. If the knock- 
off gear has 40 teeth, and the lap weighs 36 
pounds, by changing the gear to 60 teeth, the lap 
will be one-fourth longer and weigh 45 pounds, 
but still be the same weight per yard. The ma- 
chine will then run longer without doffing, and 
the laps will also run longer on the cards. Thus 
the production of the picker is increased, and to 
a certain extent that of the cards also, with less 
attention by the operative. Of course long laps 
are desirable under any condition, but if they 



28 Carding and Spinning. 

weigh over 45 or 50 pounds, they are too heavy 
to handle conveniently. 

Production. — The calculation for production Is 
a very simple matter. We simply note how long 
it takes to make a lap, and the number of minutes 
divided into 60, and this quotient multiplied by 
the number of hours in a day's work will give the 
total number of laps that can be made. This 
multiplied by the weight per lap gives the pro- 
duction per day in pounds. Suppose a lap, weigh- 
ing 33 pounds, can be made and doffed in 12 min- 
utes. Then 60 -f- 12 = 5, and 5 X H = 55 laps 
per day. As a lap weighs 33 pounds, the 
daily production will be 55 X 33 = 1,815 pounds. 
If more production is wanted, and it is not prac- 
ticable to increase the weight of the lap, it is an 
easy matter to increase the speed of the feed by 
using a larger pulley. For coarse yarns, one set 
of pickers should easily produce 15,000 pounds 
per week. The finer the yarn, the lighter the 
lap should be, and the smaller the production. 

general information. 

When mill building is active, the builders of 
cotton machinery form a kind of combine to 
maintain prices. When there is but little building 
going on, there seems to be an understanding that 
these prices may be reduced. At present ( March, 
1904) the combination prices are as follows: 



Carding and Spinning. 29 



Self-feeder connected with opener . . |600 

One-beater picker . 750 

Two-beater picker 1,100 

Automatic cleaning trunk, per ft., 10 
Thread extractor 150 



00 
00 

00 
00 
00 



All these machines are about six feet wide, 
and a full set may be put across a 75-foot mill. 
If there are two sets, the room should be 24 feet, 
or 3 bays wide; if there is but one set, and no 
probability of eyer being more, 16 feet, or 2 bays, 
are sufficient. 

Pickers built in America are shipped to the 
mill set up in sections, weighing several thou- 
sand pounds each. If they are English ma- 
chines, they are of course knocked down. These 
sections are assembled by a skilled machinist 
sent from the shop. By the terms at present in 
use, the mill pays for his time at the rate of |4.00 
per day while he is at the mill, the machine 
builders paying his board and traveling expenses. 
The mill also furnishes him with common labor 
and the services of a carpenter. This rule also 
applies to other machines throughout the mill. 
Machines are not sold in the New England States 
on this basis, but are generally erected on the 
mill floors for so much, the shop paying all ex- 
penses. We have recently heard of one mill in 
the South which was equipped on this basis, but 
only one. The mill also pays the freight, which 



30 Carding and Spinning. 

is practically the same from all New England 
shops, and to most points in the South is 50 cents' 
per hundred pounds. A set of pickers, with au- 
tomatic feeder connected with opener, and three 
one-beater pickers, will weigh, with boxing, about 
30,000 pounds, and will cost about 13,000.00. In 
this case the freight is |150.00, or 5 per cent of the 
cost. In general terms, the cost of freight and 
erection is estimated at 10 per cent of the total 
cost. 



Carding and Spinning. 31 

CHAPTER III. 



Carding, Drawing and Combing. 

It is the opinion of the writer, and we think of 
all intelligent mill men also, that carding is the 
most important process in the mill. If it is well 
done, good yarn can be produced. If it is poorly 
done, no amount of care in subsequent processes 
can make the damage good. We have in mind one 
of the most successful mill men in the country, 
who when building his first mill, put in nearly dou- 
ble the number of cards which was considered nec- 
essary. Even the machine builders told him that 
it was an unnecessary outlay, but he persisted, 
and to-day he is president of a half dozen mills. 
Where coarse yarns are made, good carding is 
not absolutely necessary, but it is very desirable ; 
but where fine yarn is made, it is absolutely nec- 
essary to have plenty of cards, and to card light. 

There are still a great many top-flat cards in 
the country, but as they wear out they are being 
thrown out, and none are being built. There 
never were many roller cards used in this coun- 
try, but in England they are quite popular, but 
are rapidly being superceded by the revolving 
flat. These roller cards are still used where a 
large production is wanted, without any special 
regard to its quality. They are therefore used 
throughout England and Europe for very coarse 



32 Carding and Spinning. 

yarns, and are exclusively used where waste is 
re-worked. For batting works, they are used 
for carding sweepings, flyings, etc., and are capa- 
ble of an enormous production. Waste yarns, 
in the true sense of the word, are seldom made 
in the United States, or even in England, but 
principally in Germany and Italy. The coiler 
is not used, but the web is separated by rings on 
a kind of front roller, and is compressed into a 
form of roving, which is spun on a special mule, 
similar to a woolen jack. The carding process 
is generally repeated. 

We will not discuss carding at length, as this 
book is not intended for beginners, but for men 
who are supposed to know the fundamental prin- 
ciples of cotton manufacturing. The card is by 
far the most delicate machine in the mill, and 
requires the most attention. The card grinder 
must be a skillful man, and not have more to do 
than he can do well. It requires considerable 
skill to grind a card properly, but a great deal 
more to adjust the various parts. The flats and 
doffer must be set close to the cylinder. If the 
flats are too far off, the cotton has a tendency to 
roll up in little balls called neps. These neps are 
also formed in the gin, and it is the function of 
the flats to remove them instead of making more. 
If the card needs stripping, these neps can be 
seen in the web, showing that the spaces between 
the teeth are as full as they can hold. 



Carding and Spinning. 33 

Card Setting, — Different carders have different 
ideas abont the exact setting of a card, but all 
agree that the doffer and flats should be as close 
as possible without rubbing. This depends a 
good deal upon the stability of the floor, and to a 
less extent on the make of the machine. The fol- 
lowing table will usually give good results : 

Comb 012 

Doffer 005 

Flats 009 

Licker-in 009 

Mote-knives 012 

Casing 012 

TROUBLES ABOUT A CARD. 

The principle trouble will always be to get the 

web uniform and free from the impurities. If a 

fleece can be held up before the light, and be free 

from this trouble, the carding may be said to be 

perfect. As is said above, this may be attained 

by careful grinding and setting. There are all 

kinds of ideas about how often a card should be 

ground. A general answer might be, when they 

need it. This will apply to almost any machine 

except the card, which should never need it. In 

other words, it should always be ground a little 

before it needs it. After a card is in good fix, it 

should be ground lightly once in two or three 

weeks. We are aware that cards are often run 
3 



34 Carding and Spinning. 

as many montlis, and one case is on record where 
they ran for over a year, but for the best results 
they should receive frequent attention. 

Rubbing. — Occasionally a cylinder will begin 
to rub against the casing or arches. This is al- 
most always caused by the card not being level. 
By a judicious use of shingles and a spirit level 
the trouble can almost always be stopped. It is 
occasionally caused by one end of the shaft wear- 
ing and letting that end lower than the other, 
even when the frame may be level. The remedy 
is obvious. 

Cloudy, or Uneven Carding,— The cotton may be 
well carded so far as the removal of impurities is 
concerned, and still be cloudy or uneven. This 
may be caused by split or uneven laps, dull 
clothing, or clothing which has been mashed in 
places; also by uneven setting of the doffer or 
flats, that is, set further from the cylinder at one 
end than at the other. Another point that is 
often unnoticed, because it does not affect the 
appearance of the web, is the top calender roll. 
On some cards it is turned by contact, and can 
easily be made to turn sluggishly by being choked 
with waste. Cans running too full also strain 
the sliver. 

Electricity. — At times this practically stops the 
card-room, especially with some kinds of colored 
cotton. A few years ago this trouble was much 
more prevalent than now. There are some dye 



Carding and Spinning. 35 

stuffs which are cheaper than others, and can be 
used in summer time with economy, but the good 
dyer now knows where to look for trouble and 
guards against it. In recent years, nearly all 
mills are provided with a system of artificially 
moistening the air, and it is a well-known fact 
that moist air conducts electricity to the pipes, 
and thence to the ground. Where there is no 
air-moistening system, a very effective remedy 
is to let live steam into the room. If this is im- 
practicable, simply sprinkling the floor will gen- 
erally help matters. A good deal of trouble in 
this line will be avoided by insisting that the 
room be comfortably warm early in the morning. 
The writer has known of cases where about every- 
thing was tried, and the closing of the door to the 
picker-room had the desired effect. 

Fires. — Every precaution should be taken to 
prevent fires, but with all possible care they will 
sometimes occur. If the lap gets on fire, remove 
it and let the machine run until the cotton is all 

if 

out. If by the zeal of some operative a large 
quantity of water is thrown on the card, all the 
casing should be removed from around the cylin- 
der, and the machine run at full speed until dry. 
The centrifugal force will throw the water from 
the cylinder, and the air currents will soon cause 
the water to evaporate. A small quantity of wa- 
ter thrown on a card, if quickly removed, does 
but little or no damage. 



36 Carding and Spinning. 

In case there is fire in the room above, and wa- 
ter is likely to get on tto cards, they should be 
immediately covered. Ii nothing else is conveni- 
ent, laps are always at hand and can be unrolled 
so as to cover the entire cards several times. 

calculations. 

There are only two calculations of any import- 
ance about a card — draft and production. Under 
ordinary conditions, the draft should be between 
75 and 100. On the roller card it is frequently 
125. To find the draft, consider the feed roller 
the driver. Then multiply the diameter of the 
delivery roller (in the coiler) by all the teeth in 
the driving gear, and divide this by the diameter 
of the feed roller, multiplied by all the driven 
gears. The quotient will be the draft. We might 
add here that this rule will apply to any machine 
where the draft is desired. To be more explicit, 
multiply the diameter of the small calender roll 
by the feed roller bevel gear, the large bevel gear 
on the side shaft, the large gear on the doffer 
(always neglect intermediate gears, which only 
transmit motion, but have no effect on speed), 
gear on calender roll which drives upright shaft, 
and gear on top of upright shaft for a dividend. 
Then multiply the diameter of feed roller by 
small gear on side shaft (draft gear), small gear 
on doffer, gear on calendar roll (near big doffer 
gear), bottom gear on upright shaft, and bevel 



Carding and Spinning. " 37 

gear on small calender roller for a divisor. The 
quotient will be the draft required. Taking, for 
an example, a Mason card, the figures would be 
thus: 

l|iXl30x34x213X29x34 

=83.64 

2^-^X31x34x28x15X18 

If this calculation were made without the draft 
gear 21, the quotient would be 1756.57, which is 
the draft constant. This divided by the draft 
gear will give the draft, or divided by the draft 
will give the draft gear. 

In this card the bevel gear on doffer end of 
side shaft is the same size as the one on doffer 
shaft, and both may be left out of the calculation. 
In other makes of cards, the bevel gear on top of 
upright shaft is the same as the one on coiler cal- 
ender roll, and may be omitted. 

Another, and a much quicker way to calculate 
drafts, is to take the weight of a yard of lap in 
grains and divide by the weight of a yard of 
sliver in grains. There are 437J grains in an 
ounce, and in a 12-ounce lap there are 5,250 
grains. If the sliver weighs 60 grains, the draft 
is 5,250 -=- 60, which is 87^. There is of course a 
slight loss on account of waste, but this method 
is near enough for all practical purposes. 

The term "Constant,'' v> hich is here used, and 
which will be frequently used throughout this 
book, means a definite ratio between the gear and 



38 



Carding and Spinning. 



the quantity the gear is intended to control. It 
is almost always the product of the quantity and 
the number of teeth in the gear. This is always 
the case when the gear is a driver, but not always 
when it is a driven gear. In the following tables 
it is the draft multiplied by the draft gear, there- 
fore if the constant is divided by the draft gear 
we get the draft, and vice versa. By the use of 
the constant, the overseer can quickly figure a 
set of changes which will cover all possible de- 
mands. 

Table of Grains in one Yard of Picker Lap. 





1 


ounce = 


= 437^ grains. 






1 


pound = 


= 7000 grains. 




Ounces. 


Grains. 


Ounpes. 


Grains, 


Ounces. 


Grains. 


1 


437.5 


8 


3500 


13 


5687.5 


2 


875 


9 


3937. 5 


13^ 


5906.25 


3 


1312.5 


10 


4375 


14 


6125 


4 


1750 


11 


4812. 5 


14^ 


6343.75 


5 


2187. 5 


11^ 


5031.25 


15 


6562.5 


6 


' 2625 


12 


5250 


15K 


6781.25 


7 


3062.5 


12M 


5468. 75 


16 


7000 



Table of Draft Constants, 24^" Doffer. 



Make of Card. 


Compensa- 
ting Gear. 


Callender 
Gear. 


Constant. 


Mason 






1574.35 


Whitin 


38 
39 
40 




2198 


Whitin 




2141.80 


Whitin 

Lowell 


28"'" 

29 


2088. 20 
1605.5 


Lowell _ 




1550.8 


Pettee 




1534. 6 











Carding and Spinning. 



39 



Table of Draft Constants, 21^4" Doffee 


• 


Make of 
Card. 


Compen- 
sating 
Gear. 


Plate 
Gear. 


Bevel on 
Doffer. 


Bevel on 

Side 

Shaft. 


Con- 
stant. 


Mason 










1756. 40 


Whitin 


38 
38 
40 








2373.80 


Whitin .... 








2313 


Whitin 








2255. 26 


Pettee 








1534. 60 


Howard & 




120 
120 

170 


mitre. 

24 
24 


mitre. 
34 
34 


1600 


Bullough. 

(26K") 




2300 




3200 






Lowell 


Callender 
Gear. 
20 
21 


1667. 25 


Lowell 








1587.86 













Constant -^ Draft = Draft Gear, 
Constant -f— Draft Gear = Draft. 

By the use of this table the overseer can quickly figure a 
set of changes for any particular card. For instance, take 
the first constant in the table, 1574.35. This divided by a 13 
tooth gear gives a draft of 121. 10, by 14, 112. 45, by 20, 78. 71, 
etc. 

PRODUCTION. 

Rule. — Multiply the circumference (diameter 
multiplied hy 3.11^16) of the doffer in inches hy 
the number of turns per minute y the number of 
minutes in an hour^ the number of hours in a 
day, and the number of grains in a yard. Divide 
this product by 7000 (grains in a pound) ^ and by 
36 (inches in a yard). The quotient will be the 
theoretical production. 

Example: if the card sliver weighs 65 grains, 
and a 24-inch doffer makes 12 revolutions per 
minnte, what is the production in 11 hours? 

24X3.1416X12X60X11X65: 
7000X36 



40 



Carding and Spinning. 



This works out 154, which is the number of 
pounds per day, from which 5 per cent should be 
deducted for necessary stops. 

A quicker way to get the production is to no- 
tice how long a lap of a certain weight lasts, and 
then calculate the number of pounds. 

Example: if a 35-pound lap lasts 2 hours, what 
is the production for 11 hours? It will be seen 
at a glance that it would take 6^ laps a day, and 
51 X 30 -= 165 pounds. 
Production Table for Cards for 10 Hours, 27^'" Doffer. 





Number of Grains 


in One Yard of Sliver. 


Revo- 






lutions 
Per 






40 


45 


50 


55 


60 


65 


70 


75 


80 


Minute. 










Lbs. 
104 




Lbs. 






Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs 


Lbs 


Lbs. 


Lbs 


8 


64 


72 


80 


88 


96 


112 


120 


128 


8.50 


68 


76 


85 


93 


102 


110 


119 


127 


136 


9 


72 


8r 


90 


99 


108 


117 


126 


135 


144 


9.50 


76 


85 


95 


104 


114 


123 


133 


142 


152 


10 


80 


90 


100 


110 


120 


130 


140 


150 


160 


10. 50 


84 


94 


105 


115 


126 


136 


147 


157 


168 


11 


88 


99 


110 


121 


132 


143 


154 


165 


176 


11.50 


92 


103 


115 


126 


138 


149 


161 


172 


184 


12 


96 


108 


120 


132 


144 


156 


168 


180 


192 


12.50 


100 


112 


125 


137 


150 


162 


175 


187 


200 


13 


104 


117 


130 


143 


156 


169 


182 


195 


208 


13.50 


108 


121 


135 


148 


162 


175 


189 


202 


216 


14 


112 


126 


140 


154 


168 


182 


196 


210 


224 


14.50 


116 


130 


145 


159 


174 


188 


203 


217 


232 


15 


119 


135 


150 


165 


180 


195 


210 


225 


240 


15.50 


124 


139 


155 


170 


186 


201 


217 


232 


248 


16 


128 


144 


•160 


176 


192 


208 


224 


240 


256 


16.50 


132 


149 


165 


181 


198 


214 


231 


247 


264 


17 


136 


153 


170 


187 


204 


221 


238 


255 


272 



Note— If the Doffer is 24|4f" , the production will be 10 per 
cent less than above. 



Carding and Spinning. 41 

general information. 

The combination price of a 40-inch card (some 
are built 45 inches) is |650.00. At the present 
time we have heard of them being sold as low as 
$450.00. Grinding rollers, strippers, etc., are 
charged extra, and cost |214.00 a set, a. set being 
enough for about 25 cards. 

It must not be supposed that all cotton ma- 
chinery is built in England and America. There 
is a great deal built in France and other Euro- 
pean countries. The Alsatian Construction 
Company, besides building a well-known comber, 
manufactures a card where the flats run back- 
ward to the usual direction. This, of course, 
necessitates the flats being stripped from the 
rear. It is claimed for this method that the 
dirty flats strike the cotton first, and the carding 
process is finished by flats which have just been 
stripped, and are therefore in a condition to do 
the most good. 

It was formerly the custom to card the cotton 
twice, where extra good yarn was required. The 
writer knows of a good many mills where this is 
still done. It is probable, however, that one 
modern card can do better work than two of the 
old style. In carding waste, it is still the prac- 
tice to card double, and from the character of the 
material, such practice is necessary. 



42 Carding and Spinning. 

In most of the large mills it is customary to 
use the card strips for making coarse yarn, a fair 
proportion of good cotton being mixed with the 
waste. A card has recently been brought out 
which runs the strips into a sliver, and coils it 
into a can. This may then be run through the 
drawing frame in any proportion desired. By 
this method, re-picking and re-carding the mate- 
rial is dispensed with, also a considerable amount 
of extra trouble in other particulars. 

DRAWING FRAMES. 

The object of a drawing frame is two-fold. 
First, to draw out several slivers into one, and 
thus reduce any unevenness which may exist in 
any one sliver; second, to lay the fibers approxi- 
mately parallel. The latter operation is the 
more important, and is accomplished by four 
rows of fluted rollers, each succeeding roller run- 
ning a little faster than the preceding one. The 
draft is generally equal to the doubling, and the 
almost universal custom now is to double six 
slivers into one, and by drawing six, to make the 
delivered sliver the same weight as the original. 
Occasionally it is desirable to increase or de- 
crease the weight of sliver at the drawing. This 
can readily be done either by changing the draft, 
or the number of ends. Carders have become so 
accustomed to seeing a draft of six, and six ends 



Carding and Spinning. 43 

up, that they are inclined to think that any other 
combination would not produce good work. They 
forget that the drawing frame of twenty years 
ago usually had only three ends up, and a draft 
anywhere from three to eight. 

Drawing frames are the simplest machines in 
the mill, and for that reason their importance is 
often overlooked. The most inexperienced labor 
operates them, and the consequences are frequent- 
ly disastrous. If one end breaks on the finishing 
drawing, the resultant sliver is one-sixth too 
light. This irregularity runs in a constantly 
decreasing degree, but increasing length, all 
through the mill, and many an end on the spin- 
ning frame and loom comes down from no other 
cause. 

The metallic roller has now been on the market 
for a good many years, and is increasing in favor. 
It certainly gives a constant draft, and on heavy 
work this is attained with the ordinary roller 
only by heavy weighting. The metallic roller 
also stops a great many roller laps, saves cost of 
covering rollers, and gives a larger production 
per frame. 

The top clearers for the rollers receive more 
attention in England than they do in America. 
As a rule, they are of one style here, namely, 
flannel bands, resting on the rollers, the accumu- 
lating waste being removed from time to time by 
the attendant. Another method used in England 



44 Carding and Spinning. 

is to place felt-covered rollers on top of the 
leather rollers, one between the first and second, 
and one between the third and fourth. These 
revolve as the frame runs, and take up all the 
loose fibers. Another method which is largely 
used where long cotton is necessary, is a broad 
band of flannel which slowly revolves over the 
rollers and collects the waste, which is removed 
either by hand or with a comb. 

Twelve or fifteen years ago the electric stop 
motion was very popular, and many are still be- 
ing used. However, they are so likely to get out 
of fix, and as one defect often interferes with a 
good many machines, they are becoming less fre- 
quently ordered. All things considered, the me- 
chanical stop motion is probably the more satis- 
factory. 

Setting the Rollers. — This is a subject on which 
a great deal of misinformation has been given. 
We have seen this rule printed a dozen times: 
"Set the centers of first and second rollers one- 
eighth inch further apart than the length of sta- 
ple," etc. Some authorities even say 1-16 inch. 
The front rollers are usually If inches in diam- 
eter, and the others 1^ inches, so if the two rollers 
were actually touching, their centers would still 
be li inches apart. How, then, could the rule 
apply to |-inch cotton? 

A much better rule is to set the bite of the roll- 
ers ^ inch further apart than the length of the 



Carding and Spinning. 45 

staple for the first and second line, and increase 
the difference ^ inch for each succeeding set. 
Theoretically, two cylindrical bodies, regardless 
of their diameter, touch one another at only one 
point, but we must bear in mind that the top 
roller, if leather, has a flattened surface at the 
point of contact, and the bite extends at least 
1-16 inch on each side. If the top roller is metal- 
lic, the bite is still further from the center on 
account of the meshing together of the flutes. 
The above rule will apply under ordinary condi- 
tions, but many cases arise where it is desirable 
to change this setting. Besides the length of 
staple, the setting depends on the thickness of 
the sliver, the speed of the machine, and the 
amount of draft. If the length of staple were the 
only consideration, the back rollers would be set 
the same as the front. 

TROUBLES ABOUT DRAWING FRAMES. 

Irregular or Cut Drawing. — The causes of this 
are many, but probably one of the most frequent 
is lack of oil. This may not be the immediate, 
but the remote cause. We have known drawing 
frames run for many years with irregular oiling 
until the saddles had worn to an exact fit on the 
rollers. The least little wrench to one side or 
another would cause the saddles to bind, and 
momentarily stop or retard the roller. Where 
shell rollers are used (and they are much better) , 



46 Carding and Spinning. 

lack of oil is much more common, and the over- 
seer should have the arbors removed every Satur- 
day evening, and stay out until Monday, when 
they are oiled and replaced. The trouble con- 
sequent on cut-roll drawing is much too serious 
to omit any precaution for preventing it. 

Out drawing may result from bad rollers, 
either because they are improperly covered, or 
because they need varnishing. The varnishing 
should be done frequently, and it must not be 
assumed that the operative in charge is a compe- 
tent judge as to when rollers should be replaced. 
Almost every overseer has receipts for making 
varnish, some of which are good, and some bad. 
The following is used in the largest mill in Mas- 
sachusetts, and is a good one: 

Acetic acid 1 qt. 

Glue 8 oz. 

Gum Arabic 4 oz. 

Oil of Origanum 2 spoonsful. 

Chrome Green As needed. 

Vinegar is not as good as acetic acid, but will 
do. Green or blue is a better color than red ^r 
yellow, as it is in greater contrast with the color 
of the leather, and thin places can be mora 
quickly detected. The oil of origanum is used to 
make the varish dry quickly. Any volatile oil 
will do, as oil of cloves or oil of peppermint. 



Carding and Spinning. 47 

Cut drawing may be caused by too great a draft 
between the front roller and tke calender roller. 
This should be just enough to keep the sliver 
from bagging, 'and just a little bagging is better 
than the opposite extreme. If this trouble is sus- 
pected, stop the frame, press the sliver by hand 
until it bags, then start it. If the slack is taken 
up quickly, it is evidence of too much draft. The 
trouble is often occasioned by damp w^eather. All 
mill men know that during damp weather the 
work becomes heavy. A great many assume that 
this is because of the additional weight of water 
absorbed. This, however, i^ responsible for only 
part of it. When the fibres get the least damp, 
they have a tendency to stick together, and be- 
come harder to draw. The draft is thus reduced 
a little at every process, and consequently the 
work becomes heavy. At the drawing frame, the 
trouble is aggravated on account of the cotton 
having to be drawn through the small hole in the 
trumpet. This makes the drawing bag between 
the front and calender roller, and the carder will 
change the draft a little. When the atmosphere 
becomes dry, he will probably forget about it, 
and the consequence will be an injurious draft. 

Where metallic rollers are used, a very small 
piece of leaf, seed or piece of broom-straw, get- 
ting wedged into one of the flutes will cause cut 
work. It is absolutely necessary to keep the roll- 



48 Carding and Spinning. 

ers clean, and each operative should be provided 
with a stiff brush for that purpose. 

Another cause for cut or strained drawing, is 
filling the cans too full; when they are so full 
that there is decided friction against the coiler, 
strained work is sure to result. This is also true 
at the card. Excessive speed, causing top roll- 
ers to jump, or a bad arrangement of back cans, 
causing the sliver to be strained before reaching 
the frame, will also cause uneven work. An ex- 
cellent way to test the quality of drawing, is to 
take a few feet and tightly twist it. If it twists 
evenly, it is uniform. If it is not uniform, the 
twist will run into thin places, and can readily 
be detected by the eye, or by running it through 
the fingers. 

Electricity. — As in the card, this will give a 
great deal of trouble at times, and the same reme- 
dies will apply. The writer had one. case where all 
remedies failed. In this particular mill, the sli- 
ver would stick to the cans, and become so tan- 
gled that it was impossible to use it. Tin cans 
would probably have stopped the trouble, but that 
was impracticable. As a last resort, a half-inch 
steam pipe was run under the coilers just back of 
the cans. This helped matters a great deal, but 
the trouble was never entirely eliminated. 



Carding and Spinning. 49 

calculations. 

The calculations on a drawing frame are for 
production and draft. For getting the produc- 
tion, we multiply the circumference (diameter 
multiplied by 3.1416) by the speed per minute, 
the minutes in an hour, the hours in a day, and 
the weight of a yard of sliver. This is divided 
by 36 (inches in a yard) X 7000 (grains per 
pound). The quotient is the theoretical produc- 
tion, from which 10 per cent should be deducted 
for necessary stops. This is the production for 
one delivery, and must be multiplied by the num- 
ber of deliveries to get the total production. 

Example. — if the front roller is making 325 
revolutions per minute, the sliver weighs 60 
grains, and the front roller is If (1.375) inches 
in diameter, what is the production in 11 hours? 

1.375X3.1416X325X60X11X60 
36X7000. 

This works out 220, and 220 less ten per cent 
is 198. 



50 



Carding and Spinning. 



Production Table Drawing Frames, 10 Hours. 
Front Roller 1% Inches. 



Revo- 


Number of Grains in One Yard of Sliver. 


lutions 
















Per 


40 


45 


50 


55 


60 


65 


70 


75 


80 


Minute. 








Lbs. 














Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 

174 


Lbs 


2no 


93 


104 


116 


127 


139 


150 


162 


186 


260 


96 


108 


120 


132 


144 


156 


168 


180 


192 


370 


100 


112 


125 


137 


150 


162 


175 


187 


199 


280 


104 


117 


130 


143 


155 


168 


181 


194 


207 


290 


107 


121 


134 


148 


161 


174 


188 


201 


214 


300 


111 


125 


139 


153 


167 


180 


194 


208 


222 


310 


115 


129 


143 


158 


172 


186 


201 


215 


229 


320 


118 


133 


148 


163 


178 


192 


207 


222 


237 


330 


122 


137 


153 


168 


183 


198 


214 


229 


244 


340 


126 


142 


157 


173 


188 


205 


220 


236 


252 


350 


138 


146 


162 


178 


194 


211 


227 


243 


259 


360 


133 


150 


167 


183 


200 


217 


233 


250 


266 


370 


137 


154 


171 


188 


205 


223 


240 


257 


274 


380 


141 


158 


176 


193 


211 


229 


246 


264 


281 


390 


144 


162 


180 


197 


217 


235 


253 


271 


288 


400 


148 


167 


185 


204 


222 


241 


259 


278 


296 


410 


152 


171 


190 


209 


227 


247 


286 


285 


303 


420 


155 


175 


194 


214 


233 


253 


272 


292 


310 


430 


159 


179 


199 


219 


239 


259 


279 


298 


318 


440 


163 


183 


204 


224 


244 


265 


285 


305 


325 


450 


167 


187 


208 


229 


250 


271 


292 


312 


333 



10 per cent has been deducted for stops. 

The above table is for frames with leather-cov- 
ered rollers. If metallic rollers are used, the 
production will be from 15 to 25 per cent greater, 
depending on the weight of the sliver. The 
lighter the sliver, the greater will be the differ- 
ence. 

Draft. — The rule for calculating the draft of a 
drawing frame is the same as for cards, viz., con- 
sider the back roller the driver; multiply the 



Carding and Spinning. 51 

diameter of the delivery roller (calender) and all 
the driving gears, and divide the product by the 
product of the diameter of the receiving roller 
(back roller), and all the driven gears. As 
we went into this somewhat fully in reference to 
the cards, we will not go into the calculations in 
detail. 

The draft of a drawing frame is in four places ; 
between the back and third roller, the third and 
second, the second and first, or front, and be- 
tween the front and calender. The total draft 
is the product of these, and not the sum, as many 
erroneously suppose. It is customary to have 
the greater part of the draft between the front 
and second rollers. The reason for this is that 
where, say six slivers enter the back of the ma- 
chine, they form a thick strand. If much draft 
were wanted here, it would not only require very 
heavy weights on the rollers, and a great deal of 
power to turn them, but the draft would proba- 
bly be irregular. For this reason a very slight 
draft is used, about 1.25; between the next two 
rollers, the strand is not so heavy, and may be 
more easily drawn. The draft here is, say, 1.35. 
Between the next two rollers a maximum draft 
is used, generally between 3 and 4, say 3.50. 
From the front to the calender roller is a very 
slight draft of about 1.03. Taking these figures, 
and multiplying them, we find the total draft to 
be 1.25 X 1.35 X 3.50 X 1.03 = 6.07. 



52 Carding and Spinning. 

Table of Draft Constants for Drawing Frame. 



Make of 
Frame. 


Back 
Roller 
Gear. 


Compen- 
sating 
Gear. 


Second 
Roller 
Gear. 


Constant 
Leather. 


Constant 
Metallic. 


Mason 


24 

48 






123 

246 

209.70 
212.70 
215.70 

172. 50 
258. 60 

11.75 
11.74 
11.73 


132. 80 


Mason 






265. 60 


Whitin .- 


69 

70 
71 


... -- 


185.6 


Whitin ._ 




188.1 


Whitin .. 




191.1 


Pettee 


40 
60 


172.5 


Pettee 






258.6 








34 
36 
38 
30 
31 
32 
32 




Howard & 


Carrier 

Gear .. 
Driving. 
2d Roller 

28 
28 
28 
26 




Bullouo^h 










t( 




10.77 


(( 






10.78 


ii 






10.76 








10.77 






6.83 
9.60 




Lowell 


Crown 
Gear. 
25 
35 


5.73 


Lowell 






8.10 











For H. & B. and Lowell Constant X Draft = Draft Gear. 
For other makes Constant -f- Draft = Draft Gear. 

It will be noticed that the drafts for metallic 
rollers are about 10 per cent greater than for 
leather covered. The reason for this is that when 
the slivers first enter the machine, there is a thick 
strand, and the Antes can not mash the fibers 
down into the corresponding depressions. As 
the sliver is drawn towards the front roller, it be- 
comes thinner, and each succeeding set of rollers 
mash it deeper into the depressions, thus elon- 
gating it and making more draft. It can be 



Carding and Spinning. 53 

readily seen that the lighter the drawing is, the 
more this mashing process will be from the start, 
and therefore the less the difference would be. 
If a single light sliver were run through, there 
would be very little or no difference in the draft 
on account of metallic rollers. The makers of 
the metallic rollers figure the amount of sliver 
delivered at 1 1-3 times the actual circumference 
of the rollers, on account of the fluting effect. 
This is about the correct ratio for the front roller, 
and for calculating production, but it will not do 
for drafts, because the back roller has practi- 
cally no fluting effect. 

GENERAL INFORMATION. 

The combination price of a drawing frame with 
6 deliveries is |60.00 per delivery. With metal- 
lic rollers, the price is |15.00 additional. A 6- 
delivery frame will occupy with cans a space of 
11 feet by 4J. Three frames will readily go across 
a 25-foot bay if set lengthway with the mill; if 
set across, about 12 deliveries can be put into a 
bay, leaving room to pass around each end. With 
boxing, drawing frames weigh about 450 pounds 
per delivery. They are now usually made so that, 
if desired, the can-tables are put on top of the 
floor, instead of being sunk in as formerly. This 
is a more sensible arrangement for several rea- 
sons. 



54 Carding and Spinning. 

One operative can attend to about eighteen de- 
liveries on ordinary work. If the work be fine, 
the cans will empty and fill much more slowly, 
and more work can be done. In a rough way it 
may be said that one delivery of drawing (for 
each process) will be required for each card. 

Within the past few years, it has become a cus- 
tom in a good many mills to use only two pro- 
cesses of drawings for numbers under 30's. The 
writer has made very careful experiments in this 
line on 24' s, carefully testing many bobbins on 
each system. The result showed that the yarn 
from the three-process work was the stronger by 
from 3 to 5 per cent. .We know of similar tests 
having been made with the same results, and also 
know of opposite results having been reported. 
The theory is certainly in favor of three-pro- 
cesses, except in very coarse work where the loss 
of strength does not amount to much. 

As in other machines, 3 draft gears are sent 
with each machine, and if there are change gears 
for the calender rollers (as there should be), 3 of 
these are also sent. If leather-covered rollers 
are used, 10 per cent extra ones are sent. If the 
mill is small, say with only 18 deliveries of draw- 
ing, there will be a total of 72 top rollers. Ten 
per cent of this is only 7, which is not a suf&cient 
number. Where there are a good many deliver- 
ies, 10 per cent spare rollers is ample. 



Carding and Spinning. 55 

sliver-lap machines and ribbon-lap machines. 

Where the work is not very fine, the card sliver 
is first run through one process of drawing, then 
through the sliver-lap machine, from which it 
goes directly to the comber. For finer yarns, or 
where better work is desired, the sliver goes di- 
rect from the cards to the sliver-lap machine, 
from which it is taken to the ribbon-lap machine 
before going to the comber. This is much the 
better system, for it is impossible to get a lap 
from the sliver-lap machine perfectly even across 
it, although it may be even lengthways. As it is 
formed of slivers, there is first a thick place, and 
then a thin one all the way across. If the shorter 
process is used, the lap is made 8J or 8f inches 
wide or sometimes wider, depending on the width 
of the comber. If the double process is used, the 
lap is 1 inch narrower, to allow for expansion in 
the ribbon machine. In the sliver-lap machine, 
from 12 to 24 slivers are run through 4 sets of 
rollers similar to a drawing frame, only a slight 
draft being used. This web is run between heavy 
calender rollers and wound as a lap. There is a 
stop motion for each sliver at the back, and also 
one to stop the machine when the lap is of a cer- 
tain length. 

The ribbon-lap machine is similar to the sliver- 
lap machine, except that 6 sliver laps are fed, 
and there is a draft of 6. The 6 laps are not put 



56 Carding and Spinning. 

together until after they are drawn, as it would 
be impracticable to draw such a thick strand. 
The drawn webs are very thin and delicate to 
handle. After leaving the rollers, they are 
turned at right angle over a highly polished 
plate, and are run one over the other, until all 
are collected together and condensed into the 
form of a lap ready for the comber. These angle 
plates in damp or cold weather often give a great 
deal of trouble, A recent improvement has all 
the webs delivered from the rollers in the same 
direction in which they are to be calendered, and 
the angle plates dispensed with. 

CALCULATIONS. 

The calculations on these machines are so sim- 
ple, and there being so little necessity for chang- 
ing, we will not take space to explain in detail, 
but give tables below which may be foumd useful. 



Carding and Spinning. 



57 



Production Table, Sliver-Lap Machine, 10 Hours. 



Rev. 
Per 


Grains Per Yard of Lap Produced. 


Min. 
of 5" 




200 


210 


220 


230 


240 


250 


260 


270 


280 


290 


800 


Cal. 
















- 






,. 




Roll. 


Lbs, 
337 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 

387 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 

438 


Lbs. 

455 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs 


50 


354 


370 


404 


421 


471 


488 


505 


55 


370 


389 


407 


426 


444 


463 


481 


500 


519 


537 


556 


60 


404 


424 


444 


468 


485 


505 


525 


545 


566 


586 


606 


65 


438 


460 


481 


503 


525 


547 


569 


591 


613 


635 


657 


70 


471 


495 


518 


542 


566 


589 


613 


636 


660 


683 , 707 


75 


504 


531 


555 


581 


806 


631 


656 


681 


707 


732 


759 


80 


539 


566 


593 


620 


646 


673 


700 


727 


754 


781 


808 


85 


572 


600 630 


651 


686 


715 


744 


772 


801 


829 


858 


90 


606 


634 667 


697 


727 


758 


788 


818 


848 


878 


909 


95 


640 


670 1 704 


736 


767 


800 


831 


863 


895 


927 


959 


100 


673 


707 741 

1 


775 


808 


842 


875 


909 


943 


977 


1010 



10 per cent is allowed for stops. 

For approximate calculation, the production may be con- 
sidered to be 500 pounds per day. 





Draft Table, Sliver-Lap Machine. 




Mason. 


Whitin. 


Gear. 


Draft. 


Constant. 


Gear. 


Draft. 


Constant. 


33 

34 
etc. 


1.50 
1.54 
etc. 


22 
22 


20 

21 

etc. 


3.22 
3.07 
etc. 


64.4 
64.4 



Mason Frame, Constant X Draft = Gear, 
Whitin Frame, Constant -^ Draft == Gear. 



58 



Carding and Spinning. 



Production Table. Ribbon-Lap Machine, 10 Hours. 



Rev. 


Grains Per Yard of Lap Produced. 


Per 




Min. 
Cal. 


200 

Lbs. 

606 


210 

Lbs. 

636 


220 

Lbs. 

666 


230 


240 


250 
Lbs. 


260 
Lbs. 


270 


280 


290 


300 


Rolls. 


Lbs. 
697 


Lbs. 

727 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 

848 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


90 


757 


788 


818 


879 


909 


95 


640 


672 


703 


735 


767 


799 


831 


863 


897 


927 


959 


100 


673 


708 


741 


774 


808 


841 


875 


909 


942 


996 


1010 


105 


707 


742 


777 


813 


848 


883 


919 


954 


990 


1025 


1060 


110 


741 


778 


815 


852 


889 


926 


963 


1000 


1037 


1074 


1111 



10 per cent is allowed for stops. 

GENERAL INFORMATION. 

A sliver-lap machine, including cans, occupies 
the space of 9' X 4:'-4t'', and weighs about 1,500 
pounds. They cost |400.00, and one operative 
can attend to about eight machines, or to a less 
number and other work in addition. As these 
machines are only used in fine mills, where the 
production is small, there are seldom more than 
3 or 4 machines. One machine will produce 
enough for 5,000 spindles on number 60's. It 
Y\^ill then be seen that so far as labor is concerned, 
it adds very little to the cost of production. What 
makes combed work cost so much is the large per 
cent of waste which the comber takes out. This, 
however, will be discussed later on. 

A ribbon-lap machine with 6 doublings occu- 
pies the space of about 14' x 4'-6'', and weighs 
from 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. The list price is 
|1,000.00, and like the sliver-lap machine, it re- 
quires but little attendance. 



Carding and Spinning. 59 

COMBERS. 

Contrary to general belief, the comber is not a 
modern machine, but was invented over fifty 
years ago by a Mr. Heilmann, who received 
1150,000 for its use in England. The comber 
practically selects the long fibers from the short 
ones, and yarn spun from combed stock is not 
only much smoother, but also much stronger than 
if made from carded stock. In operation, a pair 
of rollers deliver about one-quarter of an inch of 
lap to the nippers. The rollers then stop, the 
nippers close and hold the lap while several rows, 
usually seventeen, of very fine needles pass 
through the projecting fibers and remove the 
shorter ones, also taking out any nep or leaf that 
may be present. The nippers then open, the 
fluted segment pulls the long fibers out and de- 
livers them in a thin web to other rollers, which 
carry them to the front of the machine. These 
webs, usually six, are collected, condensed and 
coiled in a can ready for the drawing frame. The 
process is intermittent, and each operation is 
called a nip. About 80 nips a minute is the 
average speed. There is also on the market what 
is known as a duplex comber, where there are two 
sets of needles and two fluted segments. This 
machine can be run at a speed of 120 nips, with 
a corresponding increase in production. The 
work is not as thorough as on the slower ma- 
chine, and is not suited for very fine work. 



60 



Carding and Spinning. 



The comber is a very ingenious machine, and 
requires the closest adjustment and attention in 
order to produce satisfactory results. It is much 
simpler than at first invented. At that time a 
6-head comber had 564 parts. It now has from 
200 to 220. 

SETTINGS. 

It is impossible to give the exact settings for a 
machine without taking into consideration the 
length of cotton to be combed. Some of the set- 
tings remain the same regardless of this, while 
others are changed for every change in length. 
There are also changes to regulate the amount of 
waste which it is desired to remove. The follow- 
ing tables give the approximate settings for the 
three makes of machines most frequently used in 
America : 

Settings of Mason Comber. 



Edge of fluted segment to detaching roller 

Feed roller to detaching roller (at bearing) 

Feed roller starts _ _ 

Edge of cushion plate to detaching roller 

Edge of cushion plate to cylinder combs , 

Nippers close ,^ 

Nipper screws open from bracket , 

Paul drops in notch wheel 

Leather roller touches fluted segment 

Leather roller leaves fluted segment 

Brass roller to leather roller 

Top combs down 

Top combs to fluted segment 



Guage. 






IK 

20 



14 
19" 



Dial. 



"9" 






5U 



Carding and Spinning. 61 

Settings of Whitin Comber. 

Nippers open at ,,..„ 33^ Index 

Nippers close at 9)^ Index 

Lifters down at 6^ Index 

Lifters up at _ - 8^ Index 

Top Combs down 5 Index 

Detaching roll comes forward at 6 Index 

Feed roll comes forward at _ 4 Index 

Settings of Dobson & Barlow Comber. 



Clutch closes 

Steel detaching roll comes forward. 

Nippers close 

Star wheel begins to feed 

Top comb down 

Nippers to needles 



Gauge. 



19 



Dial. 



9 
5 



For setting the motions somewhat in the proper 
order, the following suggestions will be of ser- 
vice: 

1st. Set all segments at 1^ to 1^ inch gauge, 
with index at 5. 

2d. Set the cushion plates the thickness of a 
piece of writing paper from the nippers. 

3d. Loosen all nuts on rods at back, and take 
the springs off. 

4th. Take each head separately and set cushion 
plates IJ inches from steel detaching roller. Then 
put second step of step gauge between the set 
screws and stand, and set nippers to segment to 
No. 19 gauge. Take each head separately until 



62 Carding and Spinning. 

all have been set, replace the springs, and turn 
the pulley until the first row of needles comes 
under the nipper. It is very important to turn 
the needles under the nipper at this time, for if 
it is not done, when the comber is started the 
needles will be broken. ^ 

5th. When the needles come under the nipper, 
put 5-16, or the second step of the step-gauge, be- 
tween the set screws and stand, and tighten on 
the top nuts or rods at back until the step-gauge 
drops out. Then tighten the bottom nuts. 

6th. Try number 19 gauge between nippers and 
needles. If it is too close, draw off a little by 
means of the adjusting set screws. 

7th. Set top comb from 18 to 21 gauge accord- 
ing to per centage in waste desired. 

8th. Turn the pulley until the detaching cam 
brings the adjustable blocks to the lowest point, 
then set blocks No. 21 gauge from the brass bear- 
ings to the end of the leather detaching roll. 

9th. Dust everything thoroughly with whiting 
before starting. 

A comber to give good results must be oiled 
and cleaned very carefully, and everything set 
over at frequent intervals. The needles must be 
kept in good condition and picked out frequently. 
They should especially be kept free of hooked 
ends. Like the ribbon-lap machine, the polished 
parts must be frequently polished in order to ob- 
tain satisfactorv results. 



Carding and Spinning. 63 

Waste. — Waste for Peeler stock is usually 
from 15 to 17 per cent, and from Sea Island from 
20 to 22. The simplest way to ascertain the per 
cent is to carefully remove all the stock, run the 
machine say half a minute, and carefully weigh 
in grains both waste and good cotton. Add the 
two weights together, and divide the number of 
grains of waste by the sum. The quotient will 
be the per cent of waste. 

Example. — The waste produced in half a minute 
is 45 grains, and the combed cotton 255 grains, 
what per cent of waste is removed? 

45 + 255 = 300. 

45 ^- 300 = 15 per cent. 

The amount of waste may be increased — 

1st. By feeding later. 

2d. By closing nippers later. 

3d. By setting the top combs at greater angle. 

4th. By setting the top combs nearer to fluted 
segments. 

The waste may be either run into boxes, rolled 
on a rod or coiled in a can. In any case it is re- 
worked into coarser numbers. 

Draft. — There are two places where there is a 
considerable draft, and a number of others where 
there is a slight draft, just sufficient to keep the 
sliver under tention, 

1st. Between the steel roller and the first cal- 
ender roller. This is usuallv from 5 to 6. 



64 



Carding and Spinning. 



2d. Between the back roller in the draw box, 
and the block or second calender roller. This is 
usually from 4 to 4 J. The total draft is from 20 
to 33. 

The draft constant (total draft) on a Mason 
comber is 424.3, on a Whiting comber 424.4, and 
on a Dobson and Barlow 476,1. These constants 
are for gears as usually sent out, but of course 
other gears may be used, and a. different combi- 
nation may result. 

Production. — The production depends on the 
speedj weight of sliver, and the amount of waste 
removed. With 15 per cent allowed for waste, 
and 5 per cent for stoppages, the production will 
be as follows : 

Production Table op Comber, 10 Hours. 





Grains Per Yard of Combed Sliver. 




Nips 






Per 
Min- 


40 
Lbs. 

37 


42 


44 


46 


48 


50 


52 


54 

Lbs. 

50 


56 

Lbs. 

52 


58 

Lbs. 

54 


60 


ute. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 

46 


Lbs. 

48 


Lbs 


75 


39 


41 


43 


44 


56 


80 


40 


^42 


44 


45 


47 


49 


51 


53 


55 


57 


59 


85 


42 


44 


46 


48 


50 


53 


55 


57 


59 


61 


63 


90 


44 


47 


49 


51 


53 


56 


59 


60 


62 


64 


67 


95 


47 


49 


52 


54 


56 


59 


61 


63 


66 


68 


70 


100 


49 


52 


54 


57 


59 


62 


64 


67 


69 


72 


74 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



A 6-head comber occupies a space of 13' X 3'-5", 
and weighs about 3,000 pounds. They cost about 



Carding and Spinning. 65 

LOO each. The first ones offered to the pub- 
lic cost 11,000.00, with an additional |1,500.00 
for royalty. American builders usually make 
them to take laps 8| inches wide, but English 
builders have them 7^, 8^ and 10^ inches. All 
Heilman combers are built almost exactly alike, 
regardless of the maker. 

Combed yarns are much stronger and smoother 
than carded yarns, and at the present time are 
worth 6 cents more per pound. The difference 
depends a good deal on the price of cotton. As a 
large per cent of the value of combed yarn is in 
the waste which is taken from the material, high- 
priced cotton means high-priced waste. 



66 Carding and Spinning. 

CHAPTER IV. 



The Numbeeing of Cotton Yarn. 

Until the cotton passes the drawing frame, the 
system of numbering or weighing involves only 
the weight per yard, which on the lapper is ex- 
pressed in ounces, and afterwards in grains. Af- 
ter the cotton leaves the drawing frame, at each 
subsequent process it is drawn finer and finer and 
the weight of one yard is too delicate a matter to 
be accurately determined. It is customary to 
take the weight of 12 yards up to the spinning 
frame or mule, and afterwards 120 yards, or a 
multiple of it. The whole system is based on 
the fact that if 840 yards weigh one pound, the 
yarn or roving is called No. 1. If it takes twice 
840 yards, or three times, or ten times, to make 
a pound, the number is 2, 3 or 10. If the stock is 
roving, it is called 2, 3 or 10 hank. If it is thread 
it is called number 2, 3 or 10. In England, it is 
referred to as counts. There is no difference 
whatever in the system of measuring roving and 
yarn. The term hank has two meanings which 
must not be confused. It may refer as above to 
the number of roving, or it may mean a definite 
length of stock, which is 840 yards. Of course 
there is a similarity in the two meanings, as 
number 10 hank roving contains 10 hanks (10 X 
840 ) , but number 1 hank roving and one hank of 



Carding and Spinning. 67 

roving or yarn may be the same and may be en- 
tirely different. 

The table of weight is composed entirely of the 
avoirdupois table and partly of Troy, and is as 
follows : 

437^ grains (Troy) = 1 oz. (avoirdupois). 

16 ozs. = 1 lb. (avoirdupois). 

7,000 grains (Troy) = 1 lb. (avoirdupois). 

As said above, it is customary in weighing rov- 
ing to take 12 yards, which is l-70th of a hank, 
and for weight to take as a basis 100 grains, 
which is l-70th of a pound (7,000 grains). 
Twelve yards of yarn is too small a quantity, so 
we take 120 yards (l-7th of a hank) and 1,000 
grains ( l-7th of a pound ) . If, then, we have the 
weight of 12 yards of roving, and wish to find the 
number, we have only to divide it into 100; or, 
if we have the weight of 120 yards of yarn and 
wish to find the number, we have only to divide 
it into 1,000. Thus, if 12 yards of roving weigh 
16 grains, 100 -^ 16 = 6.25, which is the hank 
roving. If it were yarn instead of roving, of 
course 6.25 would be the number of yarn, but we 
would take 120 yards and divide it into 1,000, 
which is the same so far as results are concerned. 

As the overseer has frequent occasions to know 
the number of roving or yarn without the trouble 
of this division, we give below a table which ap- 
plies to roving and yarn alike. 



68 



Carding and Spinning. 



Table for Numbering Roving or Yarn. 



Num- 


Weight 


Wight 


Num- 


Weight 


Wight 


Num- 
ber of 


Wight 

of 12 

Yards 

of 
Rov- 
ing. 


Wight 


ber of 


of 12 


of 120 


Roving 


of 12 


of 120 


Rov- 


of 120 


Roving 


Yards 


Yards 


Yards 


Yards 


ing 


Yards 


or Yarn. 


Roving. 


•Yarn. 


Yarn. 


Roving. 


Yarn. or 
Yarn. 


Yarn. 


.20 


500 




2.25 


44.4 


5.50 


18.2 


182 


.25 


400 




2.30 


43.4 


1 5.75 


17.4 


174 


.30 


333 




2.35 


42.6 




6.00 


16.7 


167 


.35 


285 




2.40 


41.6 




6.25 


16.0 


160 


.40 


250 




2.45 


40.8 




6.50 


15.4 


154 


.45 


222.2 




2.50 


40.0 




6.75 


14.8 


148 


.50 


200 





2.55 


39.2 




7.00 


14.3 


143 


.55 


181.8 




2.60 


38.5 




7.25 


13.8 


138 


.60 


166.6 




2.65 


37.8 




7.50 


13.3 


133 


.65 


154 




2.70 


37.1 




7.75 


12.9 


129 


.70 


142.8 




2.75 


36.4 




8.00 


12.5 


125 


.75 


133.3 




2.80 


35.7 




8.25 


12.1 


121 


.80 


125 




2.85 


35.1 




8.50 


11.7 


117 


.85 


117.6 




2.90 


34.5 




8.75 


11.4 


114 


.90 


111.1 





2.95 


33.9 




9.00 


11.1 


111 


.95 


105.2 




3.00 


33.3 




9.25 


10.8 


108 


1.00 


100 




3.05 


32.8 




9.50 


10.5 


105 


1.05 


95.2 




3.10 


32.3 




9.75 


10.3 


103 


1.10 


91 




3.15 


31.7 




10.00 


10.0 


100 


1.15 


87 




3.20 


31.2 




10.25 


9.8 


98 


1.20 


83.5 




3.25 


30.8 




10 50 


9.5 


95 


1.25 


80 




3.30 


30.3 




10.75 


9.3 


93 


1.30 


76.9 




3.35 


29.8 




11.00 


9.1 


91 


1.35 


74 




3.40 


29.4 




11.25 


8.9 


89 


1.40 


71.5 




3.45 


29.0 




11.50 


8.7 


87 


1.45 


69 




3.50 


28.6 




11.75 


8.5 


85 


1.50 


66.5 




3.55 


28.2 




12.00 


8.3 


83 


1.55 


64.5 




3.60 


27.8 




12.25 


8.2 


82 


1.60 


62.5 




3.65 


27.4 




12.50 


8.0 


80 


1.65 


60.5 




3.70 


27.0 




12.75 


7.9 


79 


1.70 


58.8 




3.75 


26.7 




13.00 


7.7 


77 


1.75 


57.1 




3.80 


26.3 




13.25 


7.5 


75 


1.80 


56.5 




3.85 


26.0 




13.50 


7.4 


74 


1.85 


54.0 




3.90 


25.6 




13.75 


7.2 


72 


1.90 


52.5 




3.95 


25.3 




14.00 


7.1 


71 


1.95 


51.2 




4.00 


25.0 


250 


14.25 


7.0 


70 


2.00 


50.0 




4.25 


23.5 


235 


14.50 


6.9 


69 


2.05 


48.8 




4.50 


22.2 


222 


14.75 


6.8 


68 


2.10 


47.6 




4.75 


21.1 


211 


15.00 


6.7 


67 


2.15 


44.6 




5.00 


20.0 


200 


15.25 


6.5 


65 


2.20 


45.4 




5.25 


19.1 


191 


15.50 


6.4 


64 



Carding and Spinning. 



69 



Table for Numbering Roving or YAHini— Continued. 



Num- 
ber of 
Roving 
or Yarn. 


Weight 

of 12 

Yards 

Roving. 


Wight 
of 120 
Yards | 
Yarn. | 


Num- 
ber of 
Roving 

or 
Yarn. 


Weight ^ 

of 12 

Yards 

Roving. 


Wight 
of 120 
Yards 
Yarn. 


Num- i Wight 
ber of of 12 ^ 
Rov- Yards 
ing of 
or Rov- 
Yarn. ing. 


Wight 
of 120 
Yards 
Yarn. 


15.75 


6.3 


63 


26.00 




38.4 


36.25 




27.6 


16.00 


6.2 


62 


26.25 




38.1 


36.50 




27.4 


16.25 


6.2 


62 


26.50 




37.7 


36.75 




27.2 


16.50 


6.1 


61 


26.75 




37.4 


37.00 




27 


16.75 


6.0 


60 


27.00 




37 


37.25 




26.8 


17.00 


5.9 


59 


27.25 




36.7 


37.50 




26.6 


17.25 


5.8 


58 


27.50 




36.3 


37.75 




26.5 


17.50 


5.7 


57 


27.75 




36 1 


38.00 




26.3 


17.75 


5.6 


56 


28.00 




35.7 


38.25 




26.1 


18.00 


5.5 


55 


28.25 




35.4 


38.50 




26 


18.25 




54.8 


28.50 




35.1 


38.75 




25.8 


18.50 




54 


28.75 




34.8 


39 00 




25.6 


18.75 




53.4 


29.00 




34.5 


39.25 




25.5 


19.00 




52.6 


29.25 




34.2 


39.50 




25.2 


19.25 




51.9 


29.50 




33.9 


39.75 




25.1 


19. 50 




51.3 


29.75 




33.6 


40.00 




25 


19.75 




50.6 


30.00 




33.3 


40.25 




24.8 


20.00 




50 


30.25 




33.1 


40.50 




24.7 


20.25 




49.4 


30.50 




32.8 


40.75 




24.5 


20.50 




48.8 


30.75 




32.5 


41.00 




24.3 


20.75 




48.2 


31.00 




32.2 


i 41.25 




24.2 


21.00 




47.6 


31.25 




32 


41,50 




24.1 


21.25 




47.1 


31.56 




31.9 


41.75 




24 


21.50 




46.5 


31.75 




31.5 


42.00 




23.8 


21.75 




46 


32.00 




31.2 


42.25 




23.7 


22. 00 




45.4 


32.25 




31 


j 42.50 




23.5 


22.25 




45 


32.50 




30.7 


1 42.75 




23.4 


22.50 




44.4 


32.75 




30.5 


43.00 




23.2 


22.75 




44 


33.00 




30.3 


43.25 




23.1 


23.00 




43.4 


33.25 




30.1 


43.50 




23 


23.25 




43 


33.50 




29.8 


43.75 




22.9 


23.50 




42.5 


33.75 




29.6 


44.00 




22.7 


23.75 




42.1 


34.00 




29.4 


44,25 




22.6 


24.00 




41.6 


34.25 




29.2 


44.50 




22.4 


24.25 




41.3 


34.50 




29 


44.75 




22.3 


24.50 




40.8 


34. 75 




28.8 


45.00 




22.2 


24. 75 




40.4 


35.00 




28.5 


45.25 




22.1 


25.00 




40 


35.25 




28.4 


45.50 




22 


25. 25 




39.6 


35.50 




28.2 


45.75 




21.9 


25.50 




39.3 ! 35.75 




28 


46.00 




21.7 


25. 75 




38.8 


i 36.00 




27.7 


' 46.25 




21.6 



70 



Carding and Spinning. 



Table for Numbering Roving or Yarn— Continued. 



Num- 
ber of 
Roving 


Weight 

of 12 

Yards 


Wight 
of 120 
Yards 


Num- 
ber of 
Roving 


Weight 
of 12 
Yards 


ofl20i*^Tf^«^ 
Yards .^^y,; 


Wight 

of 12 

Yards 

of 


Wight 
of 120 
Yards 


Yarn. 


Roving! 


Yarn. 


or 
Yarn. 


Roving. 


Yarn. yarn. 


Rov- 
ing. 


Yarn. 


46.50 




21.5 


52.00 




19.2 61.00 




16.4 


46.75 





21.4 


52.50 




19.0 61.50 




16.8 


47.00 




21.2 


53.00 




18.9 62.00 




16.1 


47.25 




21.1 


53.50 




18.7 62.50 




16.0 


47.50 




21.0 


54 00 




18.5 63 00 




15.9 


47.75 




20.9 


54.50 




18.4 63.50 




15.7 


48.00 




20.8 


55.00 




18.2 64 00 




15.6 


48.25 




20.7 1 


55.50 




18.0 I 64.50 




15.5 


48.50 




20.6 1 


56.00 




17.8 1 65.00 




15,4 


48.75 




20.51 


56.50 




17.7 


65.50 




15.3 


49.00 




20.4 1 


57.00 





17.5 


66.00 




15.1 


49.25 




20.31 


57.50 




17.4 


66.50 




15.0 


49.50 


^ ^ 


20.2 


58.00 




17.2 


67.00 




14.9 


49.75 




20.1 


58.50 




17.0 


67.50 




14.8 


50.00 




20.0 1 


59.00 




16.9 


68.00 




14.7 


50.50 




19.8^ 


59.50 




16.8 


68.50 




14.6 


51.00 




19.6 1 


60.00 




16.6 


69.00 




14.5 


51.50 




19.4 j 

i 


60.50 




16.5 


69.50 




14,4 



Carding and Spinning. 71 

slubbers and fly frames. 

As said in the beginning of this book, it is as- 
sumed that the reader is familiar with the ma- 
chinery in a general way, and no extended de- 
scription of the processes is given. So far as 
the useful work is concerned, a slubber is the 
same as a drawing frame; that is, it attenuates 
or draws out the strands into smaller ones. 
The matter of twisting and winding on bobbins 
is simply to facilitate the subsequent processes. 
The matter of twist is a very vital one, however, 
as on it depends not only the subsequent pro- 
cesses, but also the production. The spindles 
run at a uniform speed, and if any variation of 
twist is wanted, it is made by changing the speed 
of the rollers. There is a maxim among carders 
never to change twist in order to gain production. 
This is subject to severe criticism. We once 
knew of a mill where part of the spinning was 
frequently stopped on account of lack of roving. 
A new carder took part of the twist from the 
roving, and there was soon plenty to spare. As 
the solid contents of cylindrical bodies varies 
as the square of their diameters, and as twist is 
governed by the size of roving, it has become a 
custom to regulate it according to the square root 
of the number. American machine biiilders have 
a uniform standard of 1.2 multiplied by the 
square root of the number. English builders use 



72 Carding and Spinning. 

1, 1.1 and 1.2 for the slubber, immediate and 
roving frames respectively. In either case this 
is for ordinary cotton. Long-staple cotton can 
be run with much less twist. The amount of 
twist in fine roving is not governed so much by 
the running qualities of the machine, as by the 
ability of the roving to turn the bobbin and 
skewer as it is used in the spinning frame or 
mule. It is the opinion of the writer that very 
few mills run roving from 3 to 6 hank with 
standard twist. The roving will be too tender 
to turn the bobbin, and will be continually break- 
ing. On the other hand, it is very easy to get 
too much twist, which will cause a loss of produc- 
tion, and by its hard nature injure the rollers in 
the spinning frames. Under ordinary conditions, 
if the roving is strong enough, it will work better 
just at that point than if it were twisted harder. 
There are some spinners who claim that spin- 
ning runs better if the roving is twisted beyond 
this point, but the writer fails to see any good 
reason why this should be the case. 

For the same reason that the twist is gov- 
erned by the square root of the number, the lay 
of the roving also depends upon it. It is gener- 
ally calculated at 12 times the square root of the 
number. This matter seldom receives the atten- 
tion it deserves from overseers. It is true the 
frame will run with a very wide variation either 
way ; that is, it will run for a while. If the lay 



Carding and Spinning. 73 

is not right, the tension soon gets wrong, with 
all its resultant evils. If it is too tight, the rov- 
ing may be very injuriously stretched before the 
attendant changes it. It is always bad manage- 
ment to have the attendant constantly doing this 
as the bobbin fills up^ and is a sure sign that 
something is wrong. Except for slight changes, 
caused by damp weather, the tension should al- 
ways remain the same. 

A fly frame has more bearing surfaces than any 
other machine in the mill, and for this reason 
should receive more careful alignment and oiling 
than any other. Not only does lack of oil cause 
friction and unnecessary power, but it is the most 
fruitful cause of breakdowns and consequent loss 
of production. When the average fixer finds a 
steady-pin broken, or gear loose, he usually 
thinks it is the natural wear of the machine, and 
does not stop to consider that lack of oil or bind- 
ing in the bearings may be the cause of the trou- 
ble. 

The primary motions of the fly frame are the 
same as they were forty or fifty years ago, but 
matters of detail have been much improved. The 
compound motion as now built requires much 
less power and attention than formerly. The 
spindles have better oiling arrangements, the 
gears may be more easily changed, and there are 
many other minor improvements. 



74 Carding and Spinning. 

calculations. 

The three principal calculations on speeders 
are twist, draft and production. There are sev- 
eral others, as lay, tension and taper, but these, 
when once ascertained, are more simple, and will 
not be considered in detail. 

Twist. — If a speeder be considered for a frac- 
tion of a second, one end of the strand of roving 
is held by the rollers, while the other is turned 
by the flyer, and twist is produced. In practice 
neither end is held rigidly, and the flyer winds on 
the bobbin just as much as is delivered by the 
front rollers. This is not absolutely true, as a 
little more is wound as the carriage goes up, and 
a little less as it goes down. If the flyer turns 
one time, or ten times, while the rollers deliver 
one inch, the twist is one turn or ten turns per 
inch. A detailed calculation for ascertaining 
the proper gear to produce so many turns per 
inch is very elaborate, and need not be given here. 
The best way to ascertain the twist is to mark a 
bobbin and slowly turn the speeder by hand until 
the front roller has made one revolution. As the 
diameter is usually 1^ inches, one revolution 
vnll deliver 1^ X 3.1416 = 3.5343 inches. This 
divided into the turns of the spindle, say 20, 
= 5.65 per inch. This is known as the theoreti- 
cal twist, but is not the actual twist, as the 3.5343 
inches is a little shorter after being twisted, and 
consequently the actuaJ twist is more than the 



Carding and Spinning. 75 

theoretical. A good method to determine the 
actual twist is to blacken several inches of one 
strand of roving in the creel. After it is drawn 
through, the turns may be readily counted, as the 
blackened thread is distinct from the white one. 

Rule for changing twist gear when changing 
frofm one number of roving to another: 

Multiply the square of the gear used hy the 
hank being made, divide the product hy the hank 
required^ and the square root of the quotient will 
he the gear needed. 

Example. — Suppose we are making a 5-hank 
roving with a 28 gear. What gear will be needed 
for 3-hank ? 

28 X 28 X 5 = 3920 
3920 ^ 3 = 1806 



V1306 = 36 

This is perhaps the easiest way where the 
square root is understood. Where it is not, a 
simpler way is to first find the actual twist per 
inch being put in, when the question becomes 
one of simply proportion. Suppose in the above 
case, 2.68 turns were being put into a 5-hank 
roving, and in 3-hank there should be 2.08, what 
gear is required? 

Rule. — Multiply the gear now used hy the tivist 
heing used, and divide hy the twist required. 
The quotient will he the gear required. 

28 X 2.68 = 75.04. 
75.04 ^—2.08 = 36. 

This works out the same as before. 



76 



Carding and Spinning. 



For many reasons it is desirable to have a table 

giving the correct twist for roving, and below it 

is given in detail. 

Twist of Roving. 



Hank 


Twist. 
1.2 X 


Hank 


Twist. 
1.2 X 


Hank 


Twist. 
1.2X 


Hank 


Twist 
1.2 X 


rov- 




rov- 




rov- 




rov- 




ing. 


sq. 
root. 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 

1.25 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 


.20 


.54 


.57 


.91 


1.08 


1.82 


1.62 


.21 


.55 


.58 


.91 


1.10 


1.26 


1.84 


1.63 


.22 


.56 


.59 


.92 


1.12 


1.27 


1.86 


1.64 


.23 


.58 


.60 


.93 


1.14 


1.28 


1.88 


1.65 


.24 


.59 


.61 


.94 


1.16 


1.29 


1.90 


1.65 


.25 


.60 


.62 


.94 


1.18 


1.30 


1.92 


1.66 


.26 


.61 


.63 


.95 


1.20 


1.31 


1.94 


1.67 


.27 


.62 


.64 


.96 


1.22 


1.33 


1.96 


1.68 


.28 


.63 


.65 


.97 


1.24 


1.34 


1 1.98 


1.69 


.29 


.65 


.66 


.97 


1.26 


1.35 


! 2.00 


1.70 


.30 


.66 


.67 


.98 


1.28 


1.36 1 


1 2.02 


1.71 


.31 


.67 


.68 


.99 


1.30 


1.37 i 


1 2.04 


1.71 


.32 


.68 


.69 


1.00 


1.32 


1.38 j 


1 2.06 


1.72 


.33 


.69 


.70 


1.00 


1.34 


1.39 1 


2.08 


1.73 


.34 


.70 


.71 


1.01 


1.36 


1.40 j 


2.10 


1.74 


.35 


.71 


.72 


1.02 


1.38 


1.41 


2.12 


1.75 


.36 


.72 


.73 


1.02 


1.40 


1.42 


2.14 


1.76 


.37 


.73 


.74 


1.03 


1.42 


1.43 


2.16 


1.76 


.38 


.74 


.75 


1.04 


1.44 


1.44 1 


2.18 


1.77 


.39 


.75 


.76 


1.05 


1.46 


1.45 


2.20 


1.78 


.40 


.76 


.77 


1.05 


1.48 


1.46 


2.22 


1.79 


.41 


.77 


.78 


1.06 


1.50 


1.47 


2.25 


1.80 


.42 


.78 


.79 


1.07 


1.52 


1.48 


2.28 


1.81 


.43 


.79 


.80 


1.07 


1.54 


1.49 


2.31 


1.82 


.44 


.80 


.82 


1.09 


1.56 


1.50 


2.34 


1.84 


.45 


.80 


.84 


1.10 


1.58 


1.51 


2.37 


1.85 


.46 


.81 


.86 


1.11 


1.60 


1.52 


2.40 


1.86 


.47 


.82 


.88 


1.13 


1.62 


1.53 


3.43 


1.87 


.48 


.83 


.90 


1.14 


1.64 


1.54 


2.46 


1.88 


.49 


.84 


.92 


1.15 


1.66 


1.55 


2.49 


1.89 


.50 


.85 


.94 


1.16 


1.68 


1.56 


2.52 


1.90 


.51 


.86 


.96 


1.18 


1.70 


1.56 


2.55 


1.92 


.52 


.87 


.98 


1.19 


1.72 


1.57 


2.58 


1.93 


.53 


.87 


1.00 


1.20 


1.74 


1.58 


2.61 


1.94 


.54 


.88 


1.02 


1.21 


1.76 


1.59 


2.64 


1.95 


.55 


.89 


1.04 


1.22 


1.78 


1.60 


2.67 


1.96 


.56 


.90 


1.06 


1.24 


1.80 


1.61 


2.70 


1.97 



Carding and Spinning. 



77 



Twist of Roving — Continued. 



Hank 
rov- 


Twist. 
1.2 X 


Hank 
rov- 


Twist. 
1.2 X 


Hank 
rov- 


Twist. 

1.2 X 


Hank 
rov- 


Twist 
1.2 X 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 


2.73 


1.98 


3.93 


2.38 


5.44 


2.80 


7.04 


3.18 


2.76 


1.99 


3.96 


2.39 


5.48 


2.81 


7.08 


3.19 


2.79 


2.00 


3.99 


2.40 


5.52 


2.82 


7.10 


3.20 


2.82 


2.01 


4.02 


2.41 


5.56 


2.83 


7.15 


3.21 


2.85 


2.03 


4.05 


2.41 


5.60 


2.84 


7.20 


3.22 


2.88 


2.04 


4.08 


2.42 


5.64 


2.85 


7.25 


3.23 


2.91 


2.05 


4.11 


2.43 


5.68 


2.86 


7.30 


3.24 


2.94 


2.06 


4.14 


2.44 


5.72 


2.87 


7.35 


3.25 


2.97 


2.07 


4.17 


2.45 


5.76 


2.88 


7.40 


3.26 


3.00 


2.08 


4.20 


2.46 


5.80 


2.89 


7.45 


3.28 


3.03 


2.09 


4.23 


2.47 


5.84 


2.90 


7.50 


3.29 


3.06 


2.10 


4.26 


2.48 


5.88 


2.91 


7.55 


3.30 


3.09 


2.11 


4.32 


2.49 


5.92 


2.92 


7.60 


3.31 


3.12 


2.12 


4.36 


2.51 


5.96 


2.93 


7.65 


3.32 


3.15 


2.13 


4.40 


2.52 


6.00 


2.94 


7.70 


3.33 


3.18 


2.14 


4.44 


2.53 


6.04 


2.95 


7.75 


3.34 


3.21 


2.15 


4.48 


2.54 


6.08 


2.96 


7.80 


3.35 


3.24 


2.16 


4.52 


2.55 


6.12 


2.97 


7.85 


3.36 


3.27 


2.17 


4.56 


2.56 


6.16 


2.98 


7.90 


3.37 


3.30 


2.18 


4.60 


2.57 


6.20 


2.99 


7.95 


3.38 


3.33 


2.19 


4.64 


2.58 


6.24 


3.00 


8.00 


3.39 


3.86 


2.20 


4.68 


2.60 


6.28 


3.01 


8.05 


3.40 


3.39 


2.21 


4.72 


2.61 


6.32 


3.02 


8.10 


3.42 


3.42 


2.22 


4.76 


2.62 


6.36 


3.03 


8.15 


3.43 


3.45 


2.23 


4.80 


2.63 


6.40 


3.04 


8.20 


3.44 


3.48 


2.24 


4.84 


2.64 


6.44 


3.05 


8.25 


3.45 


3.51 


2.25 


4.88 


2.65 


6.48 


3.05 


8.30 


3.46 


3.54 


2.26 


4.92 


2.66 


6.52 


3.06 


8.35 


3.47 


3.57 


2.27 


4.96 


2.67 


5.56 


3.07 


8.40 


3.48 


3.60 


2.28 


5.00 


2.68 


6.60 


3.08 


8.45 


3.49 


6.63 


2.29 


5.04 


2.69 


6.64 


3.09 


8.50 


3.50 


3.66 


2.30 


5.08 


2.70 


6.68 


3.10 


8.55 


3.51 


3.69 


2.31 


5.12 


2.72 


6.72 


3.11 


8.60 


3.52 


3.72 


2.31 


5.16 


2.73 


6.76 


3.12 


8.65 


3.53 


3.75 


2.32 


5.20 


2.74 


6.80 


3.13 


8.70 


3.54 


3.78 


2.33 


5.24 


2.75 


6.84 


3.14 


8.75 


3.55 


3.81 


2.34 


5.28 


2.76 


6.88 


3.15 


8.80 


3.56 


3.84 


2.35 


5.32 


2.77 


6.92 


3.16 


8.85 


3.57 


3.87 


2.36 


5.36 


2.78 


6.96 


3.17 


8.90 


3.58 


3.90 


2.37 


5.40 


2.79 


7.00 


3.17 


8.95 


3.59 



78 



Carding and Spinning. 







Twist 


OR UoYmG— Continued. 






Hank 
rov- 


Twist. 
1.2 X 


Hank 
rov- 


Twist. 
1.2 X 


Hank 
rov- 


Twist. 
12 X 


Hank 
rov- 


Twist. 
1.2 X 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 


ing. 


sq. 
root. 


9.00 


3.60 


11.10 


4 00 


13.50 


4.41 


16.10 


4.81 


9.05 


3.61 


11.16 


4.01 


13.56 


4.42 


16.17 


4.83 


9.10 


3.62 


11.22 


4.02 


13.62 


4.43 


16.24 


4.84 


9.15 


3.63 


11.28 


403 


13.68 


4.44 


16.31 


4.85 


9.20 


3.64 


11.34 


4.04 


13.74 


4.45 


16.38 


4.86 


9.25 


3,65 


11.40 


4.05 


13.80 


4.46 


16.45 


4.87 


9.30 


3.66 


11.46 


4.06 


13.86 


4.47 


16.52 


4.88 


9.35 


3.67 


11.52 


4.07 


13.92 


4.48 


16.59 


4.89 


9.40 


3.68 


11.58 


4.08 


13.98 


4.49 


16 66 


4.90 


9.45 


3.69 


11.64 


4.09 


14.04 


4.50 


16.73 


4.91 


9.50 


3.70 


11.70 


4.10 


H.IO 


4.51 


16.80 


4.92 


9.55 


3.71 


11.76 


4.12 


14.16 


4.52 


16.87 


4.93 


9.60 


3.72 


11.82 


4.13 


14.22 


4.53 


16.94 


4 94 


9.65 


3.73 


11.88 


4.14 


14.28 


4.53 


17.01 


4.95 


9.70 


3.74 


11.94 


4.15 


14.34 


4.54 


17.08 


4.96 


9.75 


3.75 


12.00 


4 16 


14.40 


4.55 


17.15 


4.97 


9.80 


3.76 


12.06 


4.17 


14.46 


4.56 


17.22 


4.98 


9.85 


3.77 


12.12 


4.18 


14.52 


4.57 


17.29 


4.99 


9.90 


3.78 


12.18 


4.19 


14 58 


4.58 


17.36 


5.00 


9.95 


3.79 


12.24 


4.20 


14.64 


4.59 


17.43 


5.01 


10.00 


3.79 


12.30 


4.21 


14 70 


4.60 


17.50 


5.02 


10.05 


3.80 


12.36 


4.22 


14.76 


4.61 


17.57 


5.03 


10.10 


3.81 


12.42 


4.23 


14 84 


4.62 


17.64 


5.04 


10.15 


3 82 


12 48 


4.24 


14.91 


4.63 


17.71 


5.05 


10.20 


3.83 


12.54 


4.25 


14.98 


4.64 


17.78 


5.06 


10.25 


3.84 


12.60 


4.26 


15.05 


4.66 


17.85 


5.07 


10.30 


3.85 


12 66 


4.27 


15.12 


4 67 


17.92 


5.08 


10.35 


3 86 


12.72 


4.28 


15.19 


4.68 


17.99 


5.09 


10.40 


3.87 


12.78 


4.29 


15.26 


4 69 


18.06 


5.10 


10.45 


3.88 


12.84 


4.30 


15.33 


4.70 


18.13 


5.11 


10.50 


3 89 


12.90 


4.31 


15.40 


4.71 


18,20 


5.12 


10.55 


3 90 


12.96 


4.32 


15.47 


4.72 


18.27 


5 13 


10.62 


S.91 


13.02 


4.33 


15.54 


4.73 


18.34 


5.14 


10.68 


3.92 


13.08 


4,34 


15.61 


4.74 


18.41 


5.15 


10.74 


3.93 


13.14 


4.35 


15.68 


4.75 


18.48 


5.16 


10.80 


3.94 


13.20 


4.36 


15.75 


4.76 


18.55 


5.17 


10.86 


3.95 


13.26 


4.37 


15.82 


4.77 


18.62 


5.18 


10 92 


3.97 


13.32 


4.38 


15.89 


4.78 


18.69 


5.19 


10.98 


3.98 


13.38 


4.39 


15.96 


4.79 


18.76 


5.20 


11.04 


3.99 


13.44 


4.40 


16.03 


4.80 


18.83 


5.21 



Carding and Spinning. 79 

Lay and Tension Gears.— The rule for finding 
tliese is exactly the same as for the twist ; either 
rule will give the same result. 

Draft. — The rule for finding the draft is the 
same as given for cards, viz. : 

Rule. — Consider the back roller the driver. 
Multiply all the driving gears ^ and the diameter 
of the front roller for a numerator ^ and divide 
the product hy the product of the driven gears, 
and the diameter of the hach roller as a denomi- 
nator. 

Take, for instance, a frame having the follow- 
ing gears : 

Driving gears — Driven gears — 

Back roller, 50. Change gear, 36. 

Crown gear, 80. Front roller gear, 22. 

Diameter of front roller, 1^" — consider it 9 
(eighths). 

Diameter of back roller, 1" — consider it 8 
( eighths ) . 

9 X 50 X 80 

^5.7 (about) = draft. 

8 X 36 X 22 

Note. — The front roller of a slubber and inter- 
mediate is usually IJ inches = 10 (eighths). 

In practice the draft of these machines is cal- 
culated by the net results. If one hank roving 
is fed to a machine, two ends being run together, 
which would make the hank .50, and 2.50 hank is 
produced, the draft is evidently 2.50 -v- .50 = 5. 



80 



Carding and Spinning. 



We had intended giving the draft and other 
change gears for all the most important makes 
of roving frames, but find that if carried out it 
would make the book entirely too large. We 
therefore give only the constants, from which the 
overseer can readily make a table to suit his pe- 
culiar needs. 

Table of Constants. Providence Frame. 



Size. 


Twist 


Draft. 


Tra- 
verse. 


Tension. 


Cone 
Gears. 


Taper 
Gears. 


12X6 S 


32.81 


157.50 


21.60 


22.80 


28, 29, 30 


18,19,20 


llXSiS 


32.81 


157.50 


21.60 


22.80 


28, 29, 30 


18, 19, 20 


10X5 S 


32.81 


157.50 


24.50 


28.28 


37, 38, 39 


17,18,19 


9x4iS 


41.17 


157.50 


32.88 


34.25 


28,29,30 


16,17,18 


10X5 I 


39 76 


157.50 


26.20 


35 28 


37, 38, 39 


17,18,19 


9x4i I 


49.71 


157.50 


34.50 


42.80 


28, 29, 30 


16,17,18 


8X4 I 


52.92 


170.27 


49.20 


46.00 


28, 29, 30 


14,15,16 


8X3^1 


63.25 


170.27 


52.80 


56.10 


28, 29, 30 


14,15,16 


7X3iR 


68.03 


170.27 


53.60 


68.03 


33, 34, 35 


14,15,16 


7X3 R 


82.82 


170.27 


64.20 


76.30 


33, 34, 35 


13,14,15 


6X3 R 


82.82 


170.27 


64.20 


76.30 


31,32,32 


13,14,15 


6X2^ J 


88.73 


170.27 


91. 


84. 


33, 34, 35 


13, 14, 15 


5X2iJ 


94.63 


170.27 


80. 


132. 


35, 36, 37 


12, 13, 14 


4iX2i J 


94.63 


170.27 


88. 


132. 


35, 36, 37 


12,13,14 



Constant -^Draft=Draft Gear. 
Constant-f- Twist per inch=Twist Gear. 
Constant -T- Twist per inch=Traverse Gear. 
Constant -T- Twist per inch=Tension Gear. 
Note — Some builderri refer to traverse as lay, and to tension 
as contact. 



Carding and Spinning. 



81 



Table of Constants, Woonsocket Frame. 



Size. 


Twist. 


Draft 


Lay. 


Lay. 


Contact. 


Contact. 


Cone 
Gear 


Cone 
Gear. 


12X6 


32.689 


175 


19. 676 


20. 023 


29. 962 


34.1136 


33 


33 


11X5^ 


32. 689 


175 


19. 676 


20. 023 


29. 962 


34.1136 


33 


33 


10X5 


28. 994 


175 


18. 327 


17.074 


29. 949 


27. 509 


43 


40 


9X4K 


28. 994 


175 


18. 327 


17. 074 


29.949 


27.509 


43 


40 


10X5 


40.59 


175 


24. 635 


25.286 


39.384 


33.714 


43 


40 


9X41^ 


40.59 


175 


24. 635 


25. 286 


39. 384 


33.714 


43 


40 


8X4 


50.337 


180 


38. 178 


29. 698 


43. 127 


45. 254 


31 


31 


8X31^ 


60. 404 


180 


38.178 


33.940 


43.127 


45.254 


31 


31 


7X33^ 


71.19 


180 


50.456 


44.72 


57.664 


67.08 


30 


30 


7X3 


71.19 


180 


50. 456 


44.72 


57.664 


67.08 


30 


30 


6X3 


71.19 


180 


50. 456 


49.749 


57. 664 


86.231 


30 


36 


6X21^ 


146. 918 


180 


79. 184 


79. 196 


127.260141.42 


36 


36 


5X21^ 


146.918 


180 


79. 184 


79.196 


127.260141.42 


36 


36 


4X2M 


146.918 


180 


79.184 


79. 196 


127.260141.42 

1 


36 


36 



Note. — The second set of figures for Lay, Contact and 
Cone are for new frames equipped with Daly's Differential 
motion. 

Constant -r- Draft = Draft Gear. 

Constant -J- Sq. Root of No. = Lay Gear. 

Constant -^ Sq. Root of No. = Contact Gear. 

Constant -f- Twist per inch = Twist Gear. 



82 



Carding and Spinning. 





Table of 


Constants, Saco-Pettee Frame. 




Size. 


Twist. 


Draft. 


Tra- 


With 


"Ten- 


With 


Com- 


Cone 








verse. 


Gears. 


sion. 


Gears. 


pound 
Change 


Gear 


12X6 


49.98 


201.51 


18. 249 


38&47 


30.41 


60&50 


19 


16 


llXSi 


43.93 


201.51 


29.43 


38&47 


35. 632 


55 & 55 


21 


16 


10X5 


43.93 


201.51 


29 


38&37 


43 


30&55 


21 


19 


9X4i 


43.93 


201.51 


29 


38&47 


44 


55&55 


21 


19 


10X5 


43.93 


201.51 


29 


38&47 


44 


55&55 


21 


19 


9x4i 


43.93 


201.51 


29 


38&47 


44 


55&55 


21 


19 


8X4 


62.08 


190.90 


44.33 


25&60 


52.65 


55&55 


26 


19 


8X3i 


62.08 


190.90 


57. 164 


20.&60 


77.44 


55&55 


32 


19 


7X3i 


123. 83 


190.90 


57. 164 


20&60 


77.44 


55 & 55 


32 


19 


7X3 


131.10 


180.30 


99.43 


14&71 


101.98 


55&55 


33 


19 


6X3 


131.10 


180.30 


99.43 


14&71 


101.98 


55 & 55 


33 


19 


6x2i 


131.10 


180.30 


105.32 


14&71 


117.57 


50&60 


33 


19 


5X2i 


131.10 


180.30 


98.03 


14&71 


183.41 


35&75 


33 


19 



Note. — The traverse and tension constants are correct only 
when the given combinations of years are used. Other com- 
binations are sometimes used. 

Constant -f- Draft = Draft Gear. 

Constant -f- Twist per inch = Twist Gear. 

Constant -r- Sq Root of No. = Traverse Gear. 

Constant -^ iSq, Root of No. = Tension Gear. 



Carding and Spinning. 



83 



Table of Constants, Lowell Frame. 



Size. 


Draft. 


Twist. 


Tension. 


13 X6 


148.93 


31.25 


28.80 


11 X5i 


148.93 


31.25 


28.80 


10 X5 


148.93 


30.24 


38.6 


9 X4i 


148.93 


30.24 


38.6 


10 X5 I. 


189.18 


37 49 


38,4 


9 X4i I. 


189.18 


37 49 


38.4 


8 X4 


170.27 


50.9 


52.7 


8 X3i 


170.27 


67.59 


66. 


7 X3i 


170.27 


90.13 


99.6 


6 X3 


170.27 


130.17 


115.6 


6 X3 


170.27 


120.17 


139.4 


5 X2i 


170.27 


120.17 


137.4 


4iX3i 


170.27 


120.17 


187.4 



Gear on 
Rack Shaft. 



40 



40 
56 
56 
56 



Lay. 

38.4 

38.4 

31. 

31. 

35. 

35. 

42.5 

78. 

75.4 
148. 
148. 
162.88 
162.88 



Note — The Draft Constant is figured for 100 Crown Gear. 
Constant-^ Draft=Draft Gear. 
Constant-!— Twist per inch=Twist Gear. 
Constant-4- Twist per inch=Tension Gear. 
Constant -i— Twist per inoh=Lay Gear. 

Production. — The calculation for production is 
very simple, being only a matter of speed of the 
front roller. It seems to us to be a waste of time 
to calculate this speed from that of the main 
shaft, as it is a very easy matter to count the 
actual speed or to get it with a speed indicator. 

Rule. — Multiply the circumference of the front 
roller by the speed per minute^ the minutes in an 
hour, the hours in a day, and the number of spin- 
dles in a frame. Divide the product by 8^0 mul- 
tiplied by 86 and the number of roving. 



84 Carding and Spinning. 

Example. — Suppose a frame has 120 spindles 
on 4-hank roving. What is the production per 
day of 11 hours, if the front roller makes 140? 

3.53 m X 3.14) X 140 X 60 X 11 X 120 



840 X 36 X 4 



= 323 pounds. 



This is the theoretical production. The actual 
production will be from 10 to 20 per cent less, 
depending on the skill of the operative and a 
number of other conditions. 

All speeders have clocks to register the number 
of hanks run per day. To calculate the pounds 
from the hank clock, multiply the hanks by the 
number of spindles, and divide by the number of 
roving being made. In the above example, sup- 
pose the clock registers 10.5 hanks. Then 10.5 
X 120 -f- 4 = 315 pounds. 

On account of a change in the number of yam, 
it is frequently necessary to increase the produc- 
tion on the speeder, or perhaps on the intermedi- 
ate or slubber. This can often be done by making 
the roving a little heavier, and increasing the 
draft on the next machine. If a speeder is mak- 
ing 10 pounds per day of 1-hank roving, it will 
make 11 pounds of .90-hank, which multiplied by 
the whole number of spindles, will be a consider- 
able increase. This can not always be done, as 
the next machine frequently has all the draft it 
can stand, but in many cases it can be done to 
advantage. It would seem to som^ superfluous 



Carding and Spinning. 85 

to mention this, but the writer once knew a super- 
intendent of a 20,000-spindle mill who had never 
thought of it, and knew of another superinten- 
dent who increased the production of his prede- 
cessor over a thousand pounds per week by a very 
slight increase in the weight of the roving. 

Below is given the production of speeders for 
different numbers, both in hanks and in pounds. 
This table is based on a stoppage of 15 minutes 
per set. If the frame is short, it can be doffed 
in less time, and there will be fewer stops on 
account of ends breaking. On the whole, the 
table is rather too high, and the production can 
not be attained except under very favorable cir- 
cumstances. On long-staple cotton, where the 
twist is less than standard, it can frequently be 
exceeded. 



86 



Carding and Spinning. 



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Carding and Spinning. 



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No. 

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Front 
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Twist 

Per 

Inch. 


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Numb'r 

of 
Roving. 


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88 Carding and Spinning, 

troubles encountered in running roving 

FRAMES 

Cut or Uneven Roving. — Assuming tHat the 
drawing is all right, the most fruitful source of 
this trouble is lack of oil on the rollers. The 
worst case the writer ever saw was from this 
cause. For some reason the slubber tenders had 
been changed several times within two weeks, 
and none of them had oiled the rollers. Before 
the trouble was located a large quantity of stock 
was in process, and an immense amount of bad 
work resulted. The front top rollers should al- 
ways be shells, and every Saturday evening they 
should be removed and the arbors wiped dry. 
On Monday when they are replaced they, as well 
as the middle and back rollers, should be care- 
fully oiled. 

It sometimes happens that from the lack of oil 
on previous occasions, the saddles and stirrups 
have worn to an exact fit, and if the rollers get 
the least bit out of alignment they will bind and 
stop imomentarily. This will of course cause 
cut roving. Very bad work has also resulted 
from one or two teeth being broken from a gear, 
sometimes by design, and when the blank space 
comes around, the middle or back roller stops a 
little, while the others go on. Occasionally, for 
one reason or another, a few of the roller weights 
are taken off, and when replaced are put back 
wrong, that is, the heavy ones are put on the 



Carding and Spinning. 89 

roller wliere the light ones were. This will 
cause trouble which is very hard to locate. Ex- 
cessive draft will always cause uneven roving. 
The question will of course arise, what draft is 
excessive? A general rule is that 4, 5 and 6 
should be the maximum on slubber, intermediate, 
and fine frames respectively. If jacks are used, 
not over 6^ should be drawn. This is not a 
rigid rule, and circumstances may arise where 
these drafts may be exceeded. 

In process of time, gears may break or wear 
out, and be replaced by others of a slightly dif- 
ferent size. This may throw the distribution of 
drafts wrong, and cause a great deal of trouble. 
Where shell rollers are used, and two of an un- 
equal size are put on the same arbor, the larger 
part of the weight is evidently on the ends, and as 
the roving traverses back and forth over the 
heavily and lightly weighted parts, the draft is 
sure tQ, be affected. When the top rollers are 
not in line with the bottom rollers, bad work is 
likely to result, and besides shorten the life of the 
roller from 25 to 50 per cent. All cap-bars should 
be set with a gauge, which is simply two boards 
nailed at hight angles to each other. The wider 
one, which rests on the steel roller, has project- 
ing fingers, which are spaced exactly as the top 
rollers are to be spaced. These fingers fit into 
the nebs of the cap bars, and when they are 
tightened every roller will be in exactly the same 
position. 



90 Carding and Spinning. 

In a previous paragraph, we called attention 
to the necessity of having the proper tention be- 
tween the front rollers and the flyers. If there 
is a draft, it will certainly be irregular and cause 
irregular roving. We once knew of a new frame 
being started where this draft was so great that 
a change in the draft gear had but little effect 
on the weight of roving, and for some time the 
overseer and sujierintendent were literally at 
their wits end to know where the trouble was. 
When roving is cut at regular intervals it is easy 
to trace the cause. If the thin places are about 
3J inches apart, it is very likely there is a bad 
lap on the top roller, which is a very frequent 
cause of trouble. If the spaces are, say, a foot 
apart, they are probably caused by a bad middle 
roller. The whole question is one which should 
receive the closest attention from the overseer. 

Tangled Bobbins. — This trouble may be, and 
frequently is, caused by an improper taper. As 
is explained under calculations, the layers of 
roving should be so that they will just touch, the 
proper number per inch being twelve times the 
square root of the number of roving. Each suc- 
cessive layer should have one row less, so that 
each strand will lay in the hollow formed by the 
two strands directly under it. If the taper is 
too steep, with rough treatment some of the 
strands will slip off. Tangled bobbins are fre- 
quently made by the frame failing to change, and 



Carding and Spinning. 91 

the traverse running over or under. On frames 
using a screw-builder motion, like the Provi- 
dence, Woonsocket or Lowell, the spiral spring 
may be out of fix, but more frequently the end of 
the sliding jaws have become so worn that the 
motion does not change at exactly the proper 
time. This trouble may be overcome by filing 
the arm, and putting on a steel plate, which of 
course has a square end. In time the bevel gears 
either on the upright shaft or the top cone shaft, 
may become worn so that the teeth fail to engage. 
This may frequently be remedied, at least tempo- 
rarily, by raising the upright shaft and putting 
packing in the step. A copper penny is the ex- 
act size, and answers the purpose well. If it is 
the large or skip gear which is worn, as usually 
only two or three teeth are affected, it may be 
made as good as new by changing from a right- 
hand to a left-hand frame. By this means, the 
teeth on the opposite side of the skip, which are 
not worn, are brought into use. 

If the ratchet-gear builder motion is used, such 
as is generally on English frames, the arms 
which cause the change, sometimes called trig- 
gers, become worn so that they are not exactly 
square. Round corners will cause the motion 
to change at irregular times, and a bad taper is 
the result. When they first begin to wear, they 
may be filed square, but soon become too short, 
and have to be replaced. In setting this motion. 



92 Carding and Spinning. 

care must be taken that when the carriage is in 
the center, the poker-stick, or toothed lever, be 
exactly level. 

Ends Slacking Down. — When the ends suddenly 
slack down and tangle at the flyer, a cone belt 
has either broken, or a gear slipped. It is when 
the ends slack and perhaps not tangle badly, that 
the real trouble is encountered. This may often 
be caused by the cone-belt slipping. For a test, 
some one may tighten the belt by pressing the 
cone down with the foot. If this is not the trou- 
ble, it may be a set screw slipping. If a trial 
with a wrench fails to find a loose one, all the im- 
portant gears in the train from the compound 
motion to the bobbin may be marked with chalk 
or a punch, and the frame again started. This 
will show where the slip is. If the trouble al- 
w^ays occurs at a certain point in the lift, it is 
good evidence that a motion somewhere is bind- 
ing, and causing the cone-belt to slip. It is some- 
times necessary to disconnect the whole bobbin 
Unotion, and turn the compound by hand until 
the trouble is located. Most of the trouble of 
this nature is the result of careless oiling. The 
oiler may think he is oiling every place, but it 
does not take long for an oil-hole to get choked 
with lint, and the oil wasted. 

Hard Ends. — This is the general name for the 
trouble when the roving comes through without 
being drawn. It is usually caused by bad piece- 



Carding and Spinning. 93 

ing in the previous process. When an end breaks 
down, the speeder-tender in piecing it up gener- 
ally wets the end so it can be readily threaded 
through the eye of the flyer. If this wet and 
twisted end is not broken off before piecing up, 
when it comes to the next machine it will not 
draw. It is not unusual for the speeder-tender 
to put in twice the usual twist in order that the 
roving may easily stand the strain of threading 
it through the flyer. Even if the wet end is 
broken off, the roving will often fail to draw. 
The remedy is to have the attendant put in just 
as little twist as will enable him to piece up the 
ends. 

There will also be hard ends when the rollers 
are set too close for the length of staple. Two 
rollers, having hold of the fibers at the same time, 
it is obvious that they will not be drawn. The 
remedy is to have the rollers further apart. The 
front and middle should be set so that the bite is 
1-16 inch further apart than the length of the 
sliver. The middle and back roller may be 
2-16ths. For further explanation, see "Setting 
of Drawing-Frame Kollers.'' 

There is a great deal written about excessive 
drafts, but very little about deficient drafts. As 
a matter of fact, there can be too little draft on 
the speeder, and when this is the case hard ends, 
or undrawn roving, is the result. Where only 



94 Carding and Spinning. 

a sample is wanted, the trouble may be stopped 
by taking the weight off the middle roller. 

Black Oil.. — This is a trouble always to be 
guarded against. A certain amount of oil may 
get on the roving when oiling the rollers, but this 
is not the chief trouble. In all well-regulated 
mills, the speeder-tenders are required to oil the 
spindles after the first doff in the morning. As 
the frame runs, more or less lint will stick to the 
oily spindles, and when the frame is again ready 
to doff, there will be a small collar of oily lint 
around the spindle at the top of the bobbin. If 
this is thrown off carelessly in the box with the 
roving, it is almost sure to stain it. The remedy 
is to remove the oily waste before doffing. Of 
course it is some trouble, but where the goods are 
fine, a yard is worth something, and one black 
thread may throw the whole piece into seconds. 
Where the goods are not so fine, this trouble is 
not so likely to occur, as a frame doffs too often 
to accumulate waste. These black specks can 
not always be readily removed before doffing, 
and can frequently be seen on the roving in the 
creels. The speeder-hands or spinners should 
be trained to carefully pick off all they see. 

Yellow oil may get on the cotton at almost any 
time. It must be carefully guarded against 
Yellow crayon should not be used, as it is often 
mistaken for oil. For a similar reason very 



Carding and Spinning. 95 

deep colors should not be used, as they will cer- 
tainly show in the finished cloth. 

Clearer Waste in Roving. — This may be avoided 
by having the clearers picked more often. It is 
of great importance that this be done, for if not 
the waste will occasionally be licked up by the 
roving, or it may drop in a mass to the roving and 
make a heavy slub. This will usually break 
back at the spinning frame, but if it does not, a 
long thick place is made in the yarn. On long- 
staple cotton this trouble is much more preval- 
ent, as the rollers are too far apart to help hold 
the waste together. 

Irregylar Size Bobbins. — Where there are sev- 
eral makes of frames in use it is frequently the 
case that there are bobbins which may fit other 
frames, but are not exactly the same diameter. 
This is a very important matter, for with two 
sizes on a machine, it is impossible to keep the 
tention right. The attendant may tighten it on 
account of a dozen ends running slack, and there- 
by strain the roving on all the rest of the spindles. 
The machine builders will furnish blue prints, 
showing the exact size of the bobbins, and these 
should be used. All bobbins should be wired, 
and in a coarse mill where they are handled fre- 
quently, they should have a metal base. These 
cost a good deal more, but are much cheaper in 
the end. 



96 Carding and Spinning. 

general information. 

The price of speeders vary greatly. The com- 
bination price for machines of standard length 
is as follows : 

12X6 inch slubber, 60 spindles $13 10 

11 X5i inch slubber. 60 spindles _ 12.29 

10X5 inch intermediate, 72 spindles 9.97 

8X5 inch intermediate, 96 spindles. 7.22 

7X3i inch roving, 144 spindles -.. 6.00 

6X3 inch roving, 160 spindles 5.57 

If the machine is shorter, the price per spindle 
will be more, and if longer, less. .When a 
mill is organized, it is ascertained how many 
spindles of a certain machine will be needed. 
The whole number is then divided atmong so 
many machines, a uniform number of spindles 
for each machine being kept in mind. Slubber 
spindles vary by four, intermediates by six, and 
fine frames by eight. If the lengths are irregu- 
lar, the cost will be more. The length of ma- 
chines should be governed, partly at least, by 
the labor required to run thdm. Thus, a 90- 
spindle slubber on coarse work wou^d be rather 
too much for one hand, and not enough for two. 
It must be borne in micd also that a short ma- 
chine will produce more per spindle than a long 
one, as it is stopped so much less. A slubber on 
.50-hank roving will make about eight doffs per 
day. Fifteen minutes per set, or two hours per 
day, are allowed for stoppages. We know of a 



Carding and Spinning. 97 

28-spindle slubber tbat requires only five minutes 
per set for stoppages, and thus produces 15 per 
cent more than the longer machine. While 
speaking of slubbers, it may be said that it is a 
very poor plan to have the cans running empty at 
random. A much better plan is to have one-third 
or one-fourth run out together. The attendant 
can then replace them and have more time for 
other duties than if he were continually looking 
for' ends to run out. Koving frames are now 
made so that they will stop when so many yards 
have been run. The tender on the next machine 
can then creel a whole row at the same time, and 
not be continually piecing up short ends as at 
present, or wasting a great deal in creeling, as is 
allowed in some mills. It is the custom in New 
England to have doffers in the card-room just as 
in the spinning-room, and where there is enough 
work to keep them busy, there is no question 
about the economy of having them. 

The weight of fraimes vary so much that we will 
not attempt to give any schedule. English frames 
are heavier than American, and the Providence 
frame lighter than others on account of the ab- 
sence of the carriage weights, which the balanced 
carriage dispenses with. When English frames 
are used, there is no use of paying freight, and 
45 per cent duty on the weights, as they are just 
as cheap here. The roller and other weights 
average about 2,000 pounds per frame. 

7 



98 Carding and Spinning. 

The length of frames may be found by multi- 
plying the space by one-half the number of spin- 
dles and adding 3 feet for gearing. The width 
is 3 feet. If the balanced carriage is used, l'-4" 
should be added to the length. English frames 
are sometimes built with gearing at both ends. 
In this case, I'-IO" should be added. Three sets 
of change gears, and 5 per cent of spare rollers 
are furnished' without extra charge. English 
builders do not furnish so many spare rollers, 
but furnish duplicates of the parts which are the 
most likely to be broken. 

All speeders, and for that matter other ma- 
chinery, should be carefully lined up after being 
run about a year. By this time the walls have 
settled and the floor timbers sprung about all 
they ever will. The frame will then run a num- 
ber of years without further attention. 

For the slubber, intermediate, fine frame and 
jack, about 50, 60, 75 and 100 spindles will ab- 
sorb a horse power. 



Carding and Spinning. 99 



CHAPTER V. 



Ring Spinning. 

In the processes just described the useful ac- 
tion of the machine was simply drawing the sliver 
finer and making it even. Cleaning, evening and 
assorting the long fibers belong to processes pre- 
ceding the roving frame. Cleaning, however, is 
a continuous process, and does not stop even at 
the loom. We now come to the processes by 
which the finished yarn is made from the roving. 
This is done by three methods, viz., mule, ring 
and throstle spinning. The latter is very rarely 
found in this country, and is being quickly super- 
ceded in England. There is no question as to 
the superior quality of yarn spun on this ma- 
chine, but it is too slow for modern ideas. For 
practical purposes, the spinning is either done 
on the ring frame or on the mule. There are 
advantages in both methods, and for certain pur- 
poses one machine is better than the other. In 
England, the spinning frame is not so universally 
used as in this country. The reason is probably 
due to a great extent to their system of manu- 
facture. The carding and spinning is done in 
one mill, and the weaving, or manufacturing as 
they call it, in another, often in a distant part 
of the country. It becomes inconvenient to ship 



100 Carding and Spinning. 

bobbins back and forth, but as a cop is spun on 
a small paper tube, the shipping of cops does not 
amount to much. 

As is said above, many things might be said in 
favor of both methods. For the spinning frame 
it may be said that it occupies less space than a 
mule, that it gives a larger production, that it 
costs much less to operate, and that it can be 
operated by women and children. In New Eng- 
land, a reason apart from all these that has 
caused many mules to be replaced by spinning 
frames, is a well-organized, and at times arbi- 
trary, union aimong mule spinners. 

Taking these causes somewhat in detail, we 
find that two mules having 500 spindles each 
would occupy a space 88' X 20' = 1,760 square 
feet, or 1.76 square feet per spindle. Four spin- 
ning frames of 250 spindles each would occupy 
a space, counting alleys, of 800 square feet, or 
.80 square feet per spindle — only 45 per cent as 
much as a mule. In the matter of production, a 
mule on number 30's will produce .2 pounds per 
day per spindle. A spinning frame will produce 
.216 pounds per day, a gain of 8 per cent. For 
spinning 30's on a mule, the spinner will have to 
be paid from |1.50 to |2.00 per day, against |1.00 
on the spinning frame, a difference of 50 to 100 
per cent. For fine yarns, this difference is not 
so great. 

On the other hand, a mule consumes a horse- 



Carding and Spinning. 101 

power for 160 spindles, against 75 for a spinning 
frame, a gain of over 100 per cent. The cost of 
supplies will be slightly in favor of the mule, as 
there are no travellers or bobbins. Mules cost 
about |2.70 per spindle, against |3.00 for spin- 
ning frames, another advantage in favor of the 
mule. However, the chief item in its favor is 
that a mule is absolutely necessary for spinning 
very fine yarns, and that for soft yarn it pro- 
duces much better thread than the spinning 
frame. On the whole, the verdict seems to be in 
favor of the spinning frame, and within the past 
ten years many thousand mule spindles have been 
replaced by frame spindles. 

In a spinning frame, the roving is drawn out 
from 6 to 15 times its length by three lines of 
rollers exactly as in roving frames. The twist 
is put in by revolving spindles as in a roving 
frame, but the winding is altogether different. 
It could be done in the same 'manner, and the 
fact that the process is similar is shown by the 
fact that coarse yarn is sometimes made on a 
roving frame. This was largely done some years 
ago when the Southern farmers, to break up the 
bagging trust, used covering for their cotton 
woven from coarse yarn, in many cases made on 
a roving frame. 

Many pages might be written concerning the 
use of the traveller, but we will assume that the 
reader is suffilf iently familiar with its action to 



102 Carding and Spinning. 

readily understand its use. There is still an 
erroneous idea in the minds of some that the 
traveller puts in the twist. The fact that this 
is not true is clearly shown by the mule where 
there is no traveller. If anything, the traveller 
retards the twisting. 

After evenness, the next essential of good yam 
is strength. This is accomplished by twisting, 
which is done in two ways, the intermittent as in 
the mule, and the continuous as in the spinning 
frame. Each is superior for certain purposes. 
On the mule, a strand of roving is delivered to 
the spindles, which gradually recede from the 
rollers, twist being put in while this is being 
done. The velocity at which the spindles recede 
is a little greater than the delivery of the rollers, 
creating a distance draft, which always runs 
to the thin places and leaves the thick ones un- 
twisted, or at least this would be the case if 
there were no carriage draft. Owing to this, the 
soft places where there is no twist and no 
strength, are drawn out and an even thread is 
produced. This gain is only used in spinning 
fine numbers. For very coarse numbers, the gain 
is the other way. The end of the stretch is 
reached a little before the spindles have ceased 
to rotate, so that after the yarn is evened a cer- 
tain amount of twist is put in, which is evenly 
distributed to every part of the yarn. On the 
spinning frame, the thin places remain as they 



Carding and Spinning. 103 

come from the roller, but receive a proportionate 
amount of the twisty and consequently strength 
is put in where it is most needed. For this rea- 
son frame-spun yarn is usually a little stronger 
than mule spun. 

In England the mule is still recognized as the 
standard spinning machine. Fifteen or twenty 
years ago its use was almost universal in New 
England, and to-day there are many thousand 
spindles in Lowell, New Bedford and Fall River, 
though in the latter city a large number have 
been replaced by ring frames. In the South, 
about a dozen mills out of over 500 have mules, 
no one mill having over 15,000 or 20,000 spindles. 

CALCULATIONS. 

As in the roving frames, the principal calcu- 
lations are for twist, draft and production. As 
in roving, the twist in yarn is based on the 
square root of the number. Even with this basis 
there are several multipliers, depending on the 
use for which the yam is intended, and also de- 
pending on the machine on which it is made. 
Thus 4.75 times the square root is standard twist 
for warp when spun on the ring frame, 3.75 if 
spun on the mule, 3.25 for filling on the mule, 
3.50 for filling on frames, 2.75 for yarn to be 
twisted and 2.50 for mule-spun hosiery yarn. 
It will be readily seen that the system is some- 
what complex. Within the past few years there 



104 



Carding and Spinning. 



has been a difference recognized between the 
twist for mules and for ring frames. This differ- 
ence has existed all the time in practice, but each 
machine builder hesitated to publish a table giv- 
ing more twist, and consequently lower speed, 
than others, and many mill men have been dis- 
couraged and lost their positions because they 
were not able to make the frames run at the twist 
and speed given in catalogues. 

We give below a table for twist on the new 
basis. 

Twist Tables. 



Counts 


Frame 


Frame 


Mule 


Twist 


Hosiery- 
Yarn. 


or 
Num- 


Warp 


Filling 


Filling 


for 


bers. 


Twist. 


Twist. 


Twist. 


Doubling. 


1 


4.75 


3.50 


3.25 


2.75 


2.50 


2 


6.72 


4.95 


4.60 


3.89 


3.53 


3 


8.23 


6.06 


5.63 


4.76 


4.33 


4 


9.50 


7.00 


6.50 


5.50 


5.00 


5 


10.62 


7.83 


7.27 


6.15 


5.59 


6 


11.63 


8.57 


•7.96 


6.73 


6.12 


7 


12.56 


9.26 


8.60 


7.27 


6.61 


8 


13.43 


9.90 


9.19 


7.78 


7.07 


9 


14.25 


10.50 


9.75 


8.25 


7.50 


10 


15.02 


11.07 


10.27 


8.69 


7.90 


11 


15.75 


11.61 


10.78 


9.12 


8.29 


12 


16.45 


12.12 


11.26 


9.52 


8.66 


13 


17.12 


12.62 


11.72 


9.91 


9.01 


14 


17.77 


13.10 


12.16 


10.29 


9.35 


15 


18.39 


13.56 


12.59 


10.65 


9.68 


16 


19.00 


14.00 


13.00 


11.00 


10.00 


17 


19.58 


14.43 


13.40 


11.34 


10.31 


18 


20.15 


14.85 


13.79 


11.66 


10.60 


19 


20.70 


15.26 


14.17 


11.98 


10.89 


20 


21.24 


15.65 


14.53 


. 12.30 


11.18 


21 


21.76 


16.04 


14.89 


12.60 


11.46 


22 


22.27 


16.42 


15.24 


12.89 


11.73 



Carding and Spinning. 



105 



Twist Tables — Continued. 



Counts 


Frame 


Frame 


Mule 


Twist 


Hosiery 


or 
Nnm- 
'' bers. 


Warp 


Filling 


Filling 


for 


Twist. 


Twist. 


Twist. 


Doubling, 


X Ctl u.. 


23 


22.78 


16.79 


15.59 


13.19 


11.99 


24 


23.27 


17.15 


15.92 


13.47 


12.25 


25 


23.75 


17.50 


16.25 


13.75 


12.50 


26 


24.22 


17.85 


16.57 


14.02 


12.75 


27 


24.68 


18.19 


16.89 


14.29 


12.99 


28 


25.13 


18.52 


17.20 


14.55 


13.23 


29 


25.58 


18.85 


17.50 


14.81 


13.46 


30 


26.02 


19.17 


17.80 


15.06 


13.69 


31 


26.44 


19.49 


18.10 


15.31 


13.92 


32 


26.87 


19.80 


18.38 


15.55 


14.14 


33 


27,28 


20.11 


18.67 


15.80 


14.36 


34 


27.69 


20.41 


18.95 


16.03 


14.58 


35 


28.10 


20.71 


19.23 


16.27 


14.79 


36 


28.50 


21.00 


19.50 


16.50 


15.00 


37 


28.89 


21.29 


19.77 


16.72 


15.21 


38 


29.28 


21.58 


20.03 


16.95 


15.41 


39 


29.66 


21.86 


• 20.30 


17.17 


15.61 


40 


30.04 


22.14 


20.55 


17.39 


15.81 


41 


30.42 


22.41 


20.81 


17.61 


16.01 


42 


30.78 


22.68 


21.06 


17.82 


16.20 


43 


31.14 


22.95 


21.31 


18.03 


16.39 


44 


31.50 


23.22 


21.56 


18.24 


16.58 


45 


31.86 


23.48 


21.80 


18.45 


16.77 


46 


32.21 


23.74 


22.04 


18.65 


16.96 


47 


32.56 


23.99 


22.28 


18.85 


17.14 


48 


32.90 


24.25 


22.52 


19.05 


17.32 


49 


33.25 


24.50 


22.75 


19.25 


17.50 


50 


33.58 


24.75 


22.98 


19.44 


17.68 


51 


33.92 


24.99 


23.21 


19.64 


17.85 


52 


34.25 


25.24 


23.44 


19.83 


18.03 


53 


34.58 


25.48 


23.66 


20.02 


18.20 


54 


34.90 


25.72 


23.88 


20.21 


18.37 


55 


35.22 


25.96 


24.10 


20.39 


18.54 


56 


35.54 


26.17 


24.32 


20.58 


18.71 


57 


35.86 


26.42 


24.53 


20.76 


18.87 


58 


36.17 


26.66 


24.75 


20.94 


19.04 


59 


36.48 


26.88 


24.96 


21.12 


19.20 


60 


36.79 


27.11 


25.16 


21.30 


19.36 



106 Carding and Spinning. 

The calculation for twist is as follows : 

Rule. — Consider the whirl the driver. Multi- 
ply the diameter of the whirl by all the driving 
gears and the circumference of the front roller, 
and divide the product into the diameter of the 
cylinder^ multiplied by all the driven gears. 

If the whirl is f , consider it 3, and also put the 
diameter of the cylinder in fourths. If it is 7", 
put it 28. If the whirl is |-", use 7 in the calcula- 
tion, and 56 for the cylinder. 

Example, — Cylinder 7'% whirl f ", cylinder gear 
25 teeth, stud or crown gear 100 teeth, twist gear 
56 teeth, front-rollers gear 112 teeth, what is the 
twist, with 10 per cent allowance? 

„ 28 X 100 X 113 



= 23.77 



3 X 25 X 56 X 3.14 
23.77 less 10 per cent, = 21.40. 

As in other calculations, the twist multiplied 
by the twist gear equals the twist constant. 

The best way to ascertain the twist is to mark 
a bobbin and count the number of turns it makes 
¥/hile the front roller revolves one time. Divide 
the number by 3.1416, and the quotient is the 
actual twist per inch. When calculating the 
twist, allowance must be made for slippage of 
bands, and for size of bands. It is obvious that 
a band fitting in a V-shaped groove will turn the 
whirl where the greatest pressure is. This is 
not at the bottom of the groove, but somewhere 
between it and its greatest working diameter. 



Carding and Spinning. 



107 



No two builders agree concerning this loss of 
twist. Some put it at 8 per cent, some at 10, 
and some at 13. In the tables this allowance is 
usually made in stating the relation of the cylin- 
der to the whirl. If the calculations are made 
by gears, this difference complicates matters, but 
if made by the above method, the results are 
actual. It has long been known by good spinners 
that small bands were better than large ones, 
one of the chief reasons being that they give Inore 
twist, as their effective diameter is nearer the 
bottom of the groove. 





Table 


OP Twist Constants. 


Mason Frame. 




Diam^ 

of 
Whirl. 


Diam. 

of 

Cyl. 


Rela- 
tion. 


Cylin- 
der. 
Gear. 


Crown 
Gear. 


Front 
Roller 
Gear. 


Cir. of 
Roller. 


Con- 
stant. 


13—16 


7 


7.75 


18 


92 


112 


3.1416 


1342.20 


13—16 


7 


7.75 


24 


90 


112 


3.1416 


984.30 


13—16 


7 


7.75 


30 


90 


112 


3.1416 


787,20 


13-16 


7 


7.75 


36 


84 


112 


3.1416 


612.60 


13—16 


7 


7.75 


52 


68 


112 


3 1416 


343 20 


3- 4 


7 


8.125 


18 


100 


112 


3.1416 


1529.10 


3— 4 


7 


8.135 


18 


130 


84 


3.1416 


1490.70 


3— 4 


7 


8.125 


18 


92 


112 


3.1416 


1407.30 


3— 4 


7 


8.125 


24 


90 


112 


3.1146 


1032.30 


3— 4 


7 


6.125 


30 


00 


112 


3.1416 


825 90 


3— 4 


7 


8.125 


35 


70 


112 


3.1416 


550.00 


7— 8 


7 


7. 


36 


84 


112 


3.1416 


553.20 



5 per cent is allowed for slippage and 13 per cent for size of 
bands. 
Constant -^ Twist=Twist Gear. 



108 



Carding and Spinning. 



Table of Twist Constants. Howard & Bullough Frame. 



Diam. 

of 
Whirl. 


Diam. 

of 
Cylin. 


Rela- 
tion. 


Cylin. 
Gear. 


Jack 
Gear. 


Front 
Roller 
Gear. 


Con- 
stant. 


3— 4 


7 


8.14 


21 


86 


84 


891.63 


3— 4 


7 


8.14 


21 


96 


84 


995.31 


3 4 


7 


8.14 


21 


106 


84 


1098.98 


3— 4 


7 


8.14 


17 


106 


84 


1357.57 


13—16 


7 


7.60 


29 


72 


84 


504.51 


13—16 


7 


7.60 


21 


76 


84 


735.42 


13—16 


7 


7.60 


21 


86 


84 


832.18 


13—16 


7 


7.60 


17 


72 


84 


860.64 


13-16 


7 


7.60 


21 


96 


84 


928.95 


13—16 


7 


7.60 


21 


106 


84 


1025.71 


13—16 


7 


7.60 


17 


86 


84 


1027.99 


13—16 


7 


7.60 


17 


106 


84 


1267.06 


7- 8 


7 


7.12 


39 


72 


84 


351.70 


7— 8 


7 


7.12 


29 


72 


84 


472.98 


7— 8 


7 


7.12 


21 


72 


84 


653.17 



5 per cent is allowed for slippage and 8 per cent for size of 
bands. * 
Constant-^ Twist=Twist Gear. 



Table of Twist Constants. 


Saco-Pettee Frame. 


Diam. 

of 
Whirl. 


Diam. 

of 

Cyl. 


Rela- 
tion. 


Cylind'r 
Gear. 


Jack 
Gear. 


Front 

R. 
Gear. 


Constant 


3-4 


7 


8.25 


38 


124 


108 


926 


3 4 


7 


8.25 


30 


132 


65 


751 


13—16 


7 


7.75 


38 


124 


108 


870 


13—16 


7 


7.75 


30 


132 


65 


706 


7—8 


7 


7.25 


38 


124 


108 


814 


7—8 


7 


7.25 


30 


132 


65 


660 


3 4 


7 


8.25 


38 


124 


94 


806 


3—4 


7 


8.25 


30 


132 


108 


1249 


13—16 


7 


7.75 


38 


124 


94 


757 


13—16 


7 


7.75 


30 


132 


108 


1173 


7—8 


7 


7.25 


38 


124 


94 


708 


7—8 


7 


7.25 


30 


132 


108 


1097 


3~4 


7 


8.25 


54 


108 


65 


342 


13—16 


7 


7.75 


54 


108 


65 


321 


7—8 


7 


7.25 


54 


108 


65 


300 



No allowance for slippage, and 10 per cent for size of bands. 
Constant -i— Twist = Twist Gear. 



Carding and Spinning. 



109 



Table of Twist Constants. Whitin Frame. 



Diam. 

of 
Whirl. 


Diam. 

of 

Cyl. 


Rela- 
tion, 


Cylind'r 
Gear. 


Stud 
Gear. 


F. 
Roller 
Gear. 


Constant 


3 4 


6.25 


7,44 


22 


88 


108 


1022.70 


3 4. 


6.25 


7.44 


36 


74 


108 


525.60 


7—8 


6.25 


6,47 


22 


88 


108 


889.20 


7—8 


6.25 


6.47 


36 


74 


108 


456.90 


3-4 


6.25 


7.44 


55 


55 


108 


2.55,60 


7—8 


6.25 


6.47 


55 


55 


108 


222.30 


3—4 


7 


8.33 


55 


55 


108 


286.20 


3 4 


7 


8.33 


22 


88 


108 


1145.10 


3—4 


7 


8.33 


36 


74 


108 


588.30 


7—8 


7 


7.25 


22 


88 


108 


996.60 


7—8 


7 


7 25 


36 


74 


108 


512.10 


13—16 


7 


7.68 


22 


88 


108 


1055.70 


13—16 


7 


7.68 


36 


74 


108 


542.40 


13—16 


7 


7.68 


55 


55 


108 


264.00 


7—8 


7 


7.25 


55 


55 


108 


249.00 


3-4 


8 


9.52 


55 


55 


108 


327.00 


7—8 


8 


8.28 


55 


55 


108 


284.40 


3 4 


8 


9.52 


22 


88 


108 


1308.60 


3-4 


8 


9.52 


36 


74 


108 


672.40 


7—8 


8 


8.28 


22 


88 


108 


1138.20 


7—8 


8 


8.28 


36 


74 


108 


584.70 


13—16 


8 


8.91 


22 


88 


108 


1224.60 


13—16 


8 


8.91 


36 


74 


108 


629.40 


13—16 


8 


8.91 


55 


55 


108 


306.30 



No allowance for slippage, and 10 per cent for size of bands. 
Constant -:— Twist = Twist Gear. 



110 



Carding and Spinning. 



Table of Twist Constants. Lowell Frame. 



Diam. 


Gear 


of 


on 


Whirl. 


Cylin. 


3- 4 


24 


13—16 


24 


7— 8 


24 


3— 4 


30 


13—16 


30 


7— 8 


30 


3— 4 


40 


13-16 


40 


7— 8 


40 


3- 4 


50 


13-16 


50 


7- 8 


50 


3— 4 


63 


13-16 


63 


7— 8 


63 


3— 4 


91 


13—16 


91 


7— 8 


91 


3— 4 


24 


19—16 


24 


7— 8 


24 


3— 4 


30 


13—16 


30 


7- 8 


30 


3— 4 


40 


18—16 


40 


7— 8 


40 



Stud 
Gear. 



91 
91 
91 

85 

85 

85 

75 

75 

75 

120 

120 

120 

108 

108 

108 

80 

80 

80 

91 

91 

91 

85 

85 

85 

75 

75 

75 



Front 
Roller 
Gear. 



91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 



Cons- 
tant Qi 
Inch 
Cylin. 



801.60 
749.40 
702.80 
599.00 
560.40 
525.20 
396.40 
370 80 
347.40 
507.60 
475.00 
445.00 
362.60 
339 20 
315.40 
185.60 
174.00 
163 00 



Con- 
stant 7 

Inch 
Cylin. 



891.8 
824.4 
773.6 
666.2 
6214 
578.4 
440.8 
411.6 
383.8 
564.6 
527.2 
490.2 
403.4 
376.4 
350.2 
208.8 
193 
179.6 
784.0 
731.8 
680.6 
585.8 
546.8 
508 6 
387.6 
361.8 
336.6 



Cons- 

stant 8 

Inch 

Cylin- 



1011.3 
948.9 

889.5 
755.7 
708.9 
664.5 
500.1 
469.2 
439.8 



No allowance for slippage, and 9 per cent for size of bands. 
Constant -4— Twist=Twist Gear. 

Draft. — For calculating the draft of a spinning 
frame, the rule is the same as for other machines, 
viz. : 

Rule. — Consider the hack roller the driver; 
multiply the diameter of the front roller and all 
the driving gears together for a numerator; mul- 
tiply the diameter of the hack roller ^ and the 



Carding and Spinning. 



Ill 



driven gears for a denominator. The quotient 
will he the draft. 

Example. — Diameter of front roller, 1" or 8 — 8. 
Diameter of back roller I. Crown gear 80. Front 
roller gear 30. Back roller gear 74. Draft 
gear 25. 



8 X 80 X 74 



= 9.04 



7 X 30 X 25 
9.04 X 25 (Draft gear) = 226. = Constant. 
Table of Draft Constants. Mason Frame. 



Diam. F. 


Diam. B. 


F. Roller 


Crown 


B. Roller 


Constant. 


Roller. 


Roller. 


Gear. 


Gear. 


Gear. 


1 


1 


30 


140 


84 


447.90 


1 


1 


30 


128 


84 


409.50 


1 


7 

s 


30 


116 


84 


371.10 


1 


1 


30 


84 


84 


268. 80 


1 


7 
8 


30 


78 


84 


207.90 



Constant -^ Draft = Draft Gear. 

Table of Draft Constants. Whitin Frame. 



Diam. F. 


Diam. B. 


F. Roller 


Stud 


B. Roller 


Roller. 


Roller. 


Gear. 

28 


Gear. 


Gear. 




7 
8" 


84 


84 




7 
8" 


30 


84 


84 




7 


30 


168 


84 




7 


30 


60 


84 




1 


30 


120 


84 



Constant. 

288.0 
268.8 
537.6 
192.0 
384.0 



Constant -h Draft := Draft Gear. 
Table of Draft Constants. Saco-Pettee Frame. 



Diam. F. 
Roller. 


Diam. B. 
Roller. 


F. Roller 
Gear. 


Stud 
Gear. 


B. Roller 
Gear. 


Constant. 


1 
1 


7 
¥ 

1 


25 

16 


70 
79 


84 
84 


268.8 
474.0 



Constant -^- Draft = Draft Gear. 



112 



Carding and Spinning. 



Table of Draft Constants. Howard & Bullough Frame. 



Diam. F. 


Diam. B. 


F. Roller 


Crown 


B. Roller 


Constant. 


Roller. 


Roller. 


Gear, 


Gear. 


Gear. 


1 


7 


27 


72 


89 


271.23 


1 


7 
■g 


27 


90 


79 


300.95 


1 


1 


27 


90 


89 


339. 04 


1 . 


7 
■g 


21 


72 


89 


348.73 


1 


1 


27 


108 


89 


406.85 


1 


7 


21 


90 


89 


435.91 


1 


1 


21 


108 


89 


523. 10 



Constant -H Draft = Draft Gear. 

Table of Draft Constants. Lowell Frame. 



Front 
Roller 
Gear. 


Stud Gear. 


Back 

Roller 
Gear. 


Middle 

Roller 

Gear. 


Constant. 


20 
20 


70 

70 

70 

70 

104 

104 

104 

64 

64 

64 

64 

64 

15 and 35 
15 and 30 
15 and 25 


50 
54 
55 

56 

75 
79 
84 
50 
54 
55 
56 
58 

21 
21 
21 




200. 
216. 


20 




220. 


20 
30 




224. 
297. 


30 
30 





'312.9 
332.7 


20 




182.8 


20 




197.4 


20 




201. 


20 




205.8 


20 




210.2 


Geared at 

both ends. 

14 

14 

14 


20 
20 
20 


5.00 

5.833 

7.005 



New style, Constant^— Draft=Draft Gear. 
Old style, Constant XDraft=Draft Gear. 

Production. — The production of a spinning 
frame is calculated from the front roller just as 
for a roving frame. 



Carding and Spinning. 113 

Rule. — Multiply the circumference of the front 
roller by its speed per minute^ number of minutes 
in an hour, and number of hours per day, and 
divide by SJj-O multiplied by 36 and the number of 
yarn. 

Example. — A frame on number 30's has a front 
roller speed of 115 turns per minute. What is 
the production per spindle in 11 hours? 

3.14 X 115 X 60 X 11 

= .262 pounds. 

840 X 36 X 30 

A deduction of 10 per cent is usually made for 
doffing, cleaning, etc. 

All machine builders give in their catalogues a 
table for production for both warp and filling. 
It is the opinion of the writer that these tables 
are too high, especially for filling. While we 
know that under the most favorable condi- 
tions these figures are attained, we are confi- 
dent that a large majority of the mills fall far 
short. It is true that many mills claim to be 
getting 90 per cent production, but when these 
claiims are investigated, it is often found that 
they are based, not on the speed at which the 
front roller is supposed to run, but on the speed 
it is running. In other words, the spinner has 
put in sufficient twist to make the work run per- 
haps unusually well, and then bases his produc- 
tion on the reduced speed. For many years the 
writer made it a point to get the published pro- 

8 



114 Carding and Spinning. 

duction. This was done by giving the spinners 
not more than six sides, and keeping them hard 
at work. For a number of years it has become 
more and more difficult to keep good spinners, 
and where it is necessary for them to keep con- 
stantly at work to keep their ends up, they have 
to be paid more, and even then the mill will often 
lose more in a week on account of frames being 
stopped, than it would lose in a year by keeping 
them running at a slightly reduced speed. 

As we said above, the over-estimation of pro- 
duction is especially true on filling frames. Spin- 
ning frames in England are used for warp, and 
for filling mules are used almost exclusively. 
The standard twist for mule-spun filling is 3.25 
times the square root of the number, and until 
the last few years this was still published as the 
standard for frame-spun filling. As a matter 
of fact, it is wholly impracticable to run filling 
frames at this twist, and at the speed usually 
called for. If it is necessary for the filling to be 
very soft, the speed of the frame should be re- 
duced, and if it is not necessary, the twist should 
be increased. In the following table for filling 
yarn we have calculated the twist at 3.50 times 
the square root of the number, and have reduced 
the speed about 10 per cent from that usually 
given. It is better and cheaper for the manufac- 
turer to buy a few more machines than to have 
over-worked or over-paid spinners. * 



Carding and Spinning. 



115 



In the table for filling yarns tlie twist is fig- 
ured at 3.50 times the square root of the number 
up to No. 30's. After this number, on account of 
longer cotton being used, the twist is gradually 
reduced until at No. lOO's it is only 3.09 times 
the square root. 

Production of Ring- Warp Yarn, 10 Hours. 



No. 


Twisty 


Rev. 


Rev, 


Lbs. 


No. 


Twist 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Lbs. 


of 


Per 


of 


of 


Per 


of 


Per 


of 


of 


Per 


Yarn. 


Inch. 


Roller. 


Spin- 
dles. 


Day. 


Yarn. 


Inch. 


Roller 


Spin- 
dles. 


Day. 


4 


9.50 


154 


4600 


2.160 


33 


27.28 


110 


9500 


.195 


5 


10.62 


152 


5100 


1.715 


34 


27.69 


109 


9500 


.186 


6 


11.63 


150 


5500 


1.407 


35 


28.10 


107 


9500 


.180 


7 


12.56 


149 


5900 


1.198 


36 


28.50 


106 


9500 


.173 


8 


13.43 


148 


6300 


1.051 


37 


28.89 


104 


9500 


.166 


9 


14.25 


147 


6600 


.919 


38 


29.28 


103 


9500 


.159 


10 


15.02 


146 


6900 


.829 


39 


29.66 


101 


9500 


.153 


11 


15.75 


143 


7100 


.740 


40 


30.04 


100 


9500 


147 


12 


16.45 


142 


7400 


.685 


41 


30.42 


99 


95U0 


.142 


13 


17.12 


141 


7600 


.623 


42 


30.78 


98 


9500 


.137 


14 


17.77 


139 


7800 


.572 


43 


31.14 


97 


9500 


.132 


15 


18.39 


138 


8000 


.529 


44 


31.50 


96 


9500 


.128 


16 


19 00 


137 


8200 


.492 


45 


31.86 


94 


9500 


.125 


17 


19.58 


134 


8300 


.455 


46 


32.21 


93 


9500 


.121 


18 


20.15 


133 


8500 


.428 


47 


32.56 


92 


9500 


.117 


19 


20.70 


132 


8600 


.399 


48 


32.90 


91 


9500 


.113 


20 


21.24 


131 


8800 


.378 


49 


33.25 


90 


9500 


.110 


21 


21.76 


130 


8900 


.355 


50 


33.58 


90 


9600 


.108 


22 


22.27 


128 


9000 


.335 


55 


35.22 


86 


9600 


.0943 


23 


22.78 


125 


9000 


.314 


60 


38^.79 


84 


9800 


.0845 


24 


23.27 


124 


9100 


.298 


65 


38 30 


81 


9800 


.0750 


25 


23.75 


123 


9200 


.283 


70 


39.74 


77 


9700 


.0665 


26 


24.22 


122 


9300 


.272 


75 


41.14 


74 


9600 


.0592 


27 


24.68 


119 


9300 


.258 


80 


42.78 


70 


9400 


.0527 


28 


25.13 


117 


9300 


.244 


85 


43 79 


66 


9200 


.0471 


29 


25.58 


116 


9400 


.233 


90 


45.06 


63 


9000 


.0427 


30 


26.02 


115 


9400 


.223 


95 


46.30 


60 


8800 


.0385 


31 


26.44 


113 


9400 


.212 


100 


47.50 


57 


8600 


.0352 


32 


26.87 


112 


9500 


.205 













116 



Carding and Spinning. 



Production Table of Ring-Filling Yarn, 10 Hours. 







Rev. 


Rev. 








Rev. 


Rev. 




No. 


Twist 


of 


of 


Lbs. 


No. 


Twist 


of 


of 


Lbs. 


of 


Per 


Front 


Spin- 


Per 


of 


Per 


Front 


Spin- 


Per 


Yarn. 


Inch. 


Roller 


dles. 


Day. 


Yarn. 


Inch. 


Roller 


dles. 


Day. 


4 


7.00 


164 


3600 


2.173 


33 


18.99 


120 


7100 


.207 


5 


7.83 


161 


4050 


1.708 


34 


19.05 


119 


7100 


.200 


6 


8.57 


160 


4325 


1.435 


35 


19.23 


118 


7100 


.193 


7 


9.26 


159 


4625 


1.221 


36 


19.50 


116 


7100 


.186 


8 


9.90, 


157 


4900 


1.059 


37 


19.77 


114 


7100 


.175 


9 


10.50 


155 


5125 


.927 


38 


20.03 


113 


7100 


.171 


10 


11.07 


154 


5350 


.836 


89 


20.30 


111 


7100 


.163 


11 


11.61 


152 


5525 


.750 


40 


20.55 


110 


7100 


.160 


13 


12.12 


150 


5700 


.687 


41 


20.81 


109 


7100 


.154 


13 


12.62 


148 


5850 


.624 


42 


21.06 


108 


7100 


.149 


14 


13.10 


146 


6025 


.575 


43 


21.31 


107 


7100 


.144 


15 


13.56 


145 


6175 


.530 


44 


21.56 


106 


7100 


.139 


16 


14.00 


143 


6250 


.488 


45 


21.80 


104 


7100 


.135 


17 


14.43 


141 


6400 


.456 


46 


22.04 


103 


7100 


.130 


18 


14.85 


139 


6475 


.424 


47 


22.28 


102 


7100 


.126 


19 


15.26 


137 


6575 


.397 


48 


22.52 


100 


7100 


.122 


20 


15.65 


135 


6650 


.377 


49 


22.75 


99 


7100 


.118 


21 


16.04 


134 


6750 


.355 


50 


22.98 


98 


7100 


.116 


22 


16.42 


133 


6850 


.335 


55 


24.10 


94 


7100 


.101 


23 


16.79 


131 


6925 


.317 


60 


25.66 


90 


7100 


.090 


24 


17.15 


130 


7025 


.302 


65 


25.79 


87 


7025 


.080 


25 


17.50 


129 


7075 


.286 


70 


26.75 


84 


7025 


.072 


26 


17.81 


128 


7075 


.272 


75 


27.71 


81 


7025 


.065 


27 


18.16 


127 


7075 


.262 


80 


28.16 


78 


6925 


.060 


28 


18.51 


126 


7100 


.250 


85 


29.04 


75 


6825 


.054 


29 


18.83 


125 


7100 


.236 


90 


29.39 


72 


6650 


.049 


30 


18.89 


124 


7100 


.230 


95 


30.19 


70 


6650 


.045 


31 


18.92 


123 


7100 


.226 


100 


30.50 


68 


6575 


.043 


32 


18.94 


122 


7100 


.219 













Strength of Yarn. — ^At the Atlanta, Ga., Textile 
School elaborate tests were recently made on 
many samples of yarn, varying the twist on either 
side of the standard. The result showed conclu- 
sively that yarn is strongest with the standard 
twist. If more than standard is put in, except 
in very short cotton, the yarn is not strengthened 
but weakened. 



Carding and Spinning. 



117 



The following table, which is considered the 
standard, is taken from Draper^s Catalogue, and 
shows the result obtained by testing samples from 
225 representative mills. There is also what is 
known as an English standard, but it is so elastic 
and unreliable that we do not publish it. 
Breaking Strength of Warp Yarn. 



1 


.-#.... 


15 


115.1 


29 


59.2 


43 


42.2 


57 


33.4 


2 




16 


108.4 


30 


57.3 


44 


41.4 


58 


32.8 


3 


'53()"5' 


17 


102.5 


31 


55.6 


45 


40.7 


59 


32.3 


4 


410.0 


18 


97.3 


32 


54.0 


46 


40.0 


60 


31.7 


5 


330.0 


19 


92.6 


33 


52 6 


47 


39.3 


61 


31.3 


6 


275 


20 


88.3 


34 


51.2 


48 


38 6 


62 


30.8 


7 


237.6 


21 


83.8 


35 


50.0 


49 


37.9 


63 


30.4 


8 


209.0 


22 


79.7 


36 


48.7 


50 


37.3 


64 


30.0 


9 


186.5 


23 


75.9 


37 


47.6 


51 


36.6 


65 


29.6 


10 


168.7 


24 


72.4 


38 


46.5 


52 


36.1 


66 


29.3 


11 


154.1 


25 


69.2 


39 


45.5 


53 


35.5 


67 


28.8 


13 


142.0 


26 


66.3 


40 


44.6 


54 


34.9 


68 


28.5 


13 


131.5 


27 


63.6 


41 


43.8 


55 


34.4 


69 


28.2 


14 


122.8 


28 


61.3 


42 


43.0 


56 


33.8 


70 


27.8 



TROUBLES IN THE SPINNING ROOM. 

Weak Yarn. — There is only one trouble that is 
more frequent than this, and that is the general 
one of bad-running work. Weak yarn may result 
from weak cotton. In America, we handle very 
little except American cotton, and the strength of 
the many varieties is not studied as closely as it is 
in England. However, it is no unusual thing to 
find a mill spinning yarn that is too fine for the 
cotton used. It is absurd to expect number 40's 
made from ordinary cotton to break at the stand- 
ard weight. For warp yarn we think the limit 
has been reached when 30's is made from ordinary 



118 Carding and Spinning. 

upland cotton. For many purposes, strength is 
not essential, and we know of number 42's filling 
being successfully spun from South Carolina 
cotton. Of course it is customary for the spin- 
ner to blame the carder for uneven roving, and 
what is written under that head is largely appli- 
cable here. Even with good roving it is very 
easy to make weak yam. 

Excessive Draft. — For warp yam, we do not 
think that the draft should exceed 12, or at most 
13. We are of course aware that this draft is 
often exceeded, but for the best results we should 
confine it to this limit. For filling, where strength 
is not so essential, 14 and even higher may be 
drawn. This is assuming that the roving is dou- 
ble. With single roving the draft should be less 
than 10. A few years ago it was a common ar- 
gument among spinners as to which were the 
more desirable, single or double roving. We 
now hear very little about it, and it is almost uni- 
versally conceded that it is much better to have 
it double, although it will cost more. This does 
not apply to coarse yarns, for they are sufficiently 
strong to stand high speed and need no special 
doubling to increase their strength. 

Excessive Speed. — We have spoken of this at 
some length on a previous page, and will only 
add that it not only keeps the spinners working 
harder, but also by undue chafing against the 
traveller and separator, weakens the yarn. In 



Carding and Spinning. 119 

mills where they make sewing thread the ideas 
of speed are very conservative. 

Worn travellers also have a bad effect on the 
yarn. This is especially true where the yarn is 
rather coarse. On fine yarn, the travellers break 
just as soon as they are worn, and consequently 
need but little attention. On medium or coarse 
work, the travellers should be changed at regular 
intervals. For ordinary numbers, this should be 
done every three weeks. The spinners should 
not be expected to do this, as they have neither 
the time nor the judgment necessary. When it 
is done it should be under the supervision of a 
competent man. Many rings have been ruined 
by breaking off the travellers with the top roller. 

In general terms, it may be said that anything 
that tends to make the work run bad will weaken 
the yarn, for the cause which makes the end 
break will not break it every time, but will weak- 
en it many times when it does not break. When 
it does break, and is pieced up by the spinner, it 
is seldom as strong at the splice as it is at other 
points. Assuming that the roving is good, we 
believe that the most prolific source of bad run- 
ning work is the top rollers. They may be either 
worn, fluted, dry, or choked with waste. It is 
true that it costs something to cover rollers, but 
it is no economy to use one after it has caused an 
end to break. The steel rollers should be frequent- 
ly oiled. They run at such different speeds that 



120 Carding and Spinning. 

it is impossible to give a rule wliich will apply 
to all conditions. The ends of the top rollers need 
not be oiled, after the frame has been run a few 
imonths, except when a new one has been put on. 
They need but little oil, and get that when the 
spinner is cleaning them with oily fingers. The 
saddles should be oiled either with the well- 
known tin tube and sponge, or with a Thompson 
can with a very small opening. We are sure a 
great many rollers are spoiled, and a great deal 
of bad work results from the careless use of oil. 
The rollers should be cleaned twice daily. With 
modern frames, where the bearings extend above 
the cap bar, they are much easier to keep clean 
than formerly. The spindles should be oiled every 
two weeks. If we were sure they were all oiled, 
once a month would be sufficient, but for fear 
some are neglected it is best to be on the safe side. 
This is an unpleasant job, and it is a good plan 
to have a box put on rollers, so that the boys can 
sit down and roll the box along as they oil. They 
will then be comfortable, and not near so apt to 
neglect the work. 

We believe that a large proportion of spindles 
are improperly set. The machine erectors usually 
run the ring-rail half up and set the spindles in 
the center. This is not the proper way. They 
should first be set when the rail is near the bot- 
tom. It should then run to the top, and if the 
spindle is not in the center, it is proof that it is 



Carding and Spinning. 121 

not plumb, and should be papered up. After this 
it should be again run down and see if the rings 
are still in the center. Spindles and rings 
should be set once a year without fail. 

Slack bands make a great of trouble for the 
spinner, as well as for the weaver. Eoving bands 
do not stretch as much as yarn bands, and are 
much better. The second hand or overseer should 
go over the bands occasionally and see if they 
are too loose. They need attention especially 
after several days of very damp weather, which 
draws them tight, and when they dry out many 
are too slack. 

A worn guide, or one that is not over the cen- 
ter of the spindle, will make bad work. They 
should be set while the spindle is running, as 
modern spindles are in a slightly different posi- 
tion when running and when standing. It is 
well to notice the spindles carefully. One which 
vibrates is apt to cause trouble. The step may 
need adjusting, the bolster may be broken, or 
the spindle itself bent. A bad ring may be used 
for some time, especially on coarse work, but it 
will soon ruin enough travellers to pay for an- 
other one. Besides this, every time a traveller 
breaks some waste is made, and a weak place is 
made in the yarn. Eings should be cleaned occa- 
sionally. Some overseers claim that the travel- 
ler bears only on a very s^nall part of the ring, 
and the traveller itself will keep it clean. This 



122 Carding and Spinning. 

is a mistake, and for thorough cleaning the rails 
should be put into a box of concentrated lye. If 
practicable, let them remain in the bath all night. 
They should then be rinsed in hot water, after 
which they will dry in a few minutes. 

Cut Yarn. — This might be classed under the 
head of uneven yarn, as the terms are almost 
synonymous. If it is not known on which frame 
the yarn is spun, examine all draft gears, as one 
or more teeth may be broken out. Sometimes 
the gears are not set deep enough, and slip a 
tooth occasionally. Where the gears are worn, 
they are likely to be put too deep in gear, which 
causes the rolls to jump or vibrate. On old 
frames the squares in the end of roller may be 
worn so as to slip occasionally. This is only on 
back rollers, for if it occurs on the front roller, 
the trouble will be apparent at once. A piece 
of traveller or part of a broken tooth may acci- 
dentally, or purposely, find its way between the 
teeth of the draft gears, causing the roller to 
jump at that point. 

Bunchy or Lumpy Yarn. — This may be caused by 
bad piecing. Either the scavenger rollers or the 
clearer boards may get too full, and the waste 
drop down on the roving. This is especially 
likely to happen when spinning long cotton, as 
the rollers are then farther apart. The frames 
should be stopped while the ceiling is being 
brushed down. In many mills the frames are 



Carding and Spinning. 123 

covered while this is done. Weight hooks rest- 
ing on the back boards will make bunchy yarn. 
Occasionally a front roller is crooked. This will 
make a thick and a thin place at every revolution. 
A great deal of lumpy yarn is made by spinners 
when wiping off the thread board. This seems 
to be a necessary evil, but careful spinners will 
greatly diminish it. They should not be allowed 
to fan off with their aprons or to blow off the 
lint through a bobbin. 

Spiral or Corkscrew Yarn. — See this treated 

under twisters. 

Ends Running Bad. — ^A spinner may observe all 
the foregoing points, and yet the ends run bad. 
What, then, is to be done? The numbers may 
be too light; size 16 or niore bobbins per day of 
each kind of yarn ; have the carder give you each 
day 8 roving bobbins, and size the yarn from 
these in addition to the bobbins taken at random. 
This will enable the spinner to know what to 
expect, and a careful record should be kept of 
these numbers. Do not jump at conclusions be^ 
cause one set of bobbins is light. Weigh a 
large number before changing the draft gear, 
but if too much is light or heavy, do not hesitate 
to make a change. There is a foolish idea in 
some mills that all changes of this character 
should be made in the card-room. 

There may be insufficient moisture in the room, 
or electricity may be giving trouble. Warming 



124 Carding and Spinning. 

the air and getting it moist will stop this diffi- 
culty. If there are no air moisteners, a sprink- 
ler will do a great deal of good. Spinners must 
bear in mind that warm air will hold in suspen- 
sion much more moisture than cold air. 

Bad work may be caused by a bale or several 
bales of unusually short or bad cotton. Find 
out how much of this there is. If there is only 
a little, a few extra hands will enable the room 
to pull through. If there is a good deal, put in 
more twist or reduce the speed, or both. If it is 
a spinning mill only, the speed may be easily re- 
duced at the engine. 

Cockley Yarn. — in a very general way it may be 
said that long-staple cotton is the cause of this, 
although it is not always so. There are some 
varieties of cotton more harsh and wirey than 
others, and consequently more difficult to draw. 
Sometimes roving being twisted too hard will 
cause it. We know of a mill where the spinning 
was running unusually bad when a new overseer 
took charge. Investigation showed that the 
speeders were running unusually well, and fur- 
ther investigation showed that the roving was 
twisted too hard. The old spinner had trouble 
with cockley yarn, and had spread the rollers 
one-eight inch in order to remedy it. The extra 
twist was taken from the roving, the rollers 
closed up, and the spinning ran fifty per cent 
better. 



Carding and Spinning. 125 

By far the most frequent cause of cockley yam 
is that there are just a few long fibers in a cross 
section of roving. One end of these fibers is 
held by the middle roller, while the other end is 
beyond the bite of the front roller. The bobbin 
is consequently pulling the thread down as fast 
as it is delivered by the front roller, but the mid- 
dle roller, having hold of these fibers, holds them 
back, and the other fibers, being delivered by the 
front rover, and not being taken care of by the 
bobbin, bend back on themselves and form a kink. 
If a piece of yarn having one of these kinks in it 
is carefully untwisted and the fibers examined, 
it will be readily seen where the trouble is. The 
remedy, however, is not so simple. It will at 
once occur to the average man that the rollers 
should be spread, and if this is done the trouble 
will disappear. But, as stated before, other trou- 
bles may take its place, and the next day, or the 
same the stock may be short, and the rollers too 
far apart. It may be said that cockley yarn 
occurs more frequently in yarns spun from staple 
cotton, that is cotton more than one inch long. 
A remedy which never fails, is to have the saddle 
for the front and back rollers only, no weight 
being on the middle roller. We know of a large 
mill which Imade the change after everything 
else had been tried and failed, and the results 
were all that could be desired. It may be said 
that the trouble only occurs on filling, but this is 



126 Carding and Spinning. 

only partially true. It does not occur so fre- 
quently on warp, because the warp is usually 
coarser, and the greater pull of the traveller pulls 
the kinks out as fast as made, and if it does not, 
the tension on the yarn in the spooler is likely to, 
and it is not noticed in the cloth. We know of 
one mill which for months kept several sets of 
looms weaving nothing but cockley filling, and 
every yard woven was sold as seconds. 

Waste. — This is classed as a trouble in the 
spinning room, and perhaps an overseer is criti- 
cised on account of it more than for any other one 
thing. The trouble is not so much in making 
waste, for that is inevitable, but in taking care 
of it after it is made. Nothing discounts a spin- 
ner so much as to have his floor littered up with 
waste. It is hard to keep the spinners from 
throwing white waste on the floor, but there is no 
reason why they should not be trained to do so 
the same as they are trained to keep roving bob- 
bins, top rollers, or any other material they han- 
dle. Not only is the habit untidy, and tends to 
make the spinner careless in other matters, but 
much of this waste becomes mixed with dirt and 
oil and is sold for a trifle. As sweepings it is 
worth about three-quarters of a cent, and as 
good cotton from 10 to 15 cents. The best way 
to keep it off the floor is to insist that the spin- 
ners have pockets in their aprons at least 8" X 
4". If they do not have them, do not allow them 



Carding and Spinning. 127 

to work until they get them. By the time these 
pockets get full, they become somewhat in the 
way, and serve as a reminder that it is time to 
empty them. Where they empty them, also, has 
a bearing on the appearance of the floor. An ex- 
cellent waste box is about 18'' high and made from 
12" boards set up on end. In the top is a round 
hole, 4^" in diameter. These boxes can be packed, 
and made to hold a great deal, and there need be 
no occasion for their running over. 

However, with the most careful system, some 
good cotton will be swept up as waste. This is 
supposed to be carefully picked out and returned 
to the picker-room. As a matter of fact, it is 
often carelessly done, and the writer knows of a 
case in the past few months where over 500 
pounds of good cotton was picked out of a few 
bales of sweepings. A good plan is to have the 
good waste picked out, but not have the sweep- 
ings put in the waste box until they are inspected 
by the second hand or overseer. 

Spinners very often leave the room with their 
pockets full of waste. Some of this is scattered 
about the village, and much of it finds its way 
into pillows and quilts. About the best way to 
stop this is to have a man stationed at the out- 
side door, and require every spinner whose pocket 
is not empty to go entirely back to the spinning- 
room. A very little of this has the desired effect. 

The clearer waste should be kept separate from 



128 Carding and Spinning. 

the sweepings, as it is worth three or four times 
as much. Putting it into a box to itself will also 
tend to keep the floor clean. Just here it may 
be said that the waste from the dust rolls of the 
cards can be put with the clearer waste. It is 
the same kind of stock, and is worth as much. 

Bobbins Wound Too Low. — This trouble might 
be appropriately classed under the head of 
"Waste," for it is certainly a fruitful source of 
it. Not only is the yarn on the bobbin frequent- 
ly wasted, but the groove by which the bobbin is 
held in the shuttle, being full of yarn, the bobbin 
will not fit properly, and causes a break-out in 
the loom. A careful weaver could prevent this, 
but even then the bobbin is generally too big to 
go into the shuttle, and together with others is 
sent back to the spinning-room, where it is wasted 
by being cut or reeled off. These bobbins are 
almost always the result of carelessness of the 
doffers. They should be trained to glance under 
the ring rail after every doff, and never to leave 
a frame until all the bobbins are down. Many 
of these bobbins fail to fit, because they have been 
wet or steamed and the wood has swollen. Such 
bobbins should all be laid aside, and reamed. The 
Draper Company has recently patented a clutch 
for the bobbin, which by centrifugal force firmly 
binds the bobbin when the spindle is running, 
but when not running the arms of the clutch re- 
main in a normal position, and the bobbin is 



Carding and Spinning. 129 

free. This device will also prevent spindles be- 
ing sprung and bolsters broken by the doffers 
when an extra tight bobbin is found. Its chief 
merit of course is to prevent the bobbin rising 
when the frame is running. This is an ever-pres- 
ent trouble on high-speed spindles, and may be 
caused either by badly fitting bobbins or by vibra- 
ting spindles, but in nine cases out of ten it is 
caused by yarn being wound about the base of the 
spindle, preventing the bobbin from binding 
properly. The experience of the writer has been 
that the bobbins stay down better on the Whitin 
spindle than on other makes. 

With the best system, a good many tangled 
and the ill-shaped bobbins will be returned from 
the weave-room. If the mill is of suf&cient size, 
it will pay well to get a quiller and run all these 
pieces into full-size bobbins. The yarn if cut or 
reeled off is worth about 6 cents per pound, but 
if put into shape to weave, from 20 to 30 cents. 
Not only is it a great saving in this respect, but 
it has been found by experience that the spinner 
will be more careful of the shape of his bobbins, 
and that the quantity of the bad ones will be re- 
duced fully one-half. 

Soft Bobbins and Soft Nose Bobbins.— We once 

knew of a large mill where there was great com- 
plaint on account of the filling knocking off in 
the looms. A rigid investigation showed that 
they were using a traveller that was too light. 
9 



130 Carding and Spinning. 

Further investigation showed that the spindles 
and rings were so badly set that they had to use 
light travellers, or the ends would not stay up. 
After the spindles and rings were re-set, they 
were enable to use a traveller two numbers heav- 
ier, and the complaint stopped. Soft bobbins on 
warp frames are frequently caused by their not 
being doffed as soon as full. 

Sometimes only the nose'of the bobbin is soft, 
and will snarl in the shuttle. This is usually 
caused either by the builder cam being worn and 
allowing a pause in changing, or by too much 
back-lash in the builder motion. The effect of 
this back-lash is heightened if the ring rails are 
too evenly balanced. The rails should be heavy 
enough to go down quickly, or light enough to 
go up quickly. The speed of the ring rail may 
be too slow. It should move fast enough to pre- 
vent the coils of yarn riding on each other. After 
the wind reaches the highest point, it should 
descend rapidly so as to firmly bind the previous 
layer. Some spinners change the traverse so as 
to go up fast and down slow, claiming that the 
quick downward stroke tends to jerk the ends 
down. This tendency does not amount to any- 
thing, and may be disregarded. Soft twisted 
filling is less liable to tangle than hard twisted, 
as it will mash into the yarn previously spun 
and bind more firmly. 

A light traveller will also cause bad noses, es- 



Carding and Spinning. 131 

pecially in connection with high speed. Tlie 
yarn is not wound tight enough, and the centri- 
fugal force throws the layers out and loosens 
them. 

GENERAL INFORMATION. 

The length of spinning frame is found by mul- 
tiplying one-half the number of the spindles by 
the space, and adding 2' 3''. The width may be 
36" or 39" as is desired. If the space is ample, a 
39" frame is preferable, as the bands are longer, 
and have a better bearing surface on the whirl. 
English frames are much longer than they are 
usually made in America, often having over 400 
spindles. They usually have two cylinders 10" 
in diameter, and are frequently belted in the 
center. Instead of clearer boards, they have 
clearer rollers on the top rollers, similar to a 
mule. These rollers lie between the front and 
middle roller, and are turned by friction. 

Separators are called anti-ballooners in Eng- 
land, and have not attained the degree of excel- 
lence they have in this country. Ballooning is 
not an unmixed evil, but helps turn the traveller. 
If the yam is allowed to balloon, a heavier trav- 
eller can be used, which for several reasons is de- 
sirable. Among some mill men there is a ten- 
dency to dispense with separators, especially with 
fine yarn, by making the space between 'the spin- 
dles greater. For filling fames it is customary 
to have this extra space and to dispense with sep- 



132 Carding and Spinning. 

arators. This is not the result of any special de- 
sign, but is merely incidental. The cost of a 
spinning frame is based on a 2f '' space, and for 
all numbers, except very coarse ones, the ring is 
IJ'', allowing ample room on each side. 

About li spindles occupy a square foot of floor 
space, so that 5,000 spindles would occupy 4,000 
square feet. Spinning frames are sold at what is 
known as a base price per spindle. At present 
this price is |3.25. Separators are 10 cents ex- 
tra. Shell front rollers 5 cents, and Dickson's 
saddles 2 cents. Extra heavy spindles or wide 
space is also extra. There is also an extra charge 
for boxing of 2 per cent of the total cost, includ- 
ing extras. 

Spinning frames are driven with any size pul- 
ley or belt desired. We do not think that less 
than a 12-inch pulley or a 3-inch belt should be 
used for a frame of over 200 spindles. It is true, 
they often have smaller dimensions, but the belt 
has to be kept so tight that it quickly wears out, 
and also wears the bearing. 

The power required to drive spinning frames 
depends greatly upon the speed, and increases at 
a greater ratio. The Draper Company has made 
exhaustive experiments, and has found that a 
horsepower will run 137, 94, 76, and 67 spindles 
at 7,000, 8,000, 9,000 and 10,000 revolutions re- 
spectively. Of this power the bare spindle ab- 



Carding and Spinning. 133 

sorbs more than half, the various elements being 
as follows: 

Cylinder, bands and bare spindles 54 per cent. 

Average yarn load _ 16 per cent. 

Average traveller pull 22 per cent. 

Rollers, traverse and gears 8 per cent . 

100 

For ordinary cotton the front rollers are 1" in 
diameter, and the middle and back |^". The 
front roller is made larger partly to support the 
heavier weight and partly so that it does not have 
to turn so fast to make the surface speed. For 
India cotton the front roller is |^", as the cotton 
is so short the rollers could not get close enough 
together if they were of the usual size. For some 
purposes the front rollers are made 1 1-16" and 
1 1-8'' in diameter. 

In England, filling frames or mules are always 
made to give yarn the reverse twist. There is 
some science in this, as the fibers have been 
twisted the opposite way in previous processes, 
the tendency is for them to remain that way. 
When the twist is reversed, the fibers will not 
lay so close together, and the yarn is what is 
called oozy, and gives a softer feel to the cloth. 
It is also claimed that the fibers being laid in a 
different way gives the yarn a different color, 
owing to the direction in wlbich the light strikes 
it. It is a well-known fact in weaving that stripe 
effects are made in cloth by having right- and 
left-hand twist alternate. 



134 Carding and Spinning. 

CHAPTER VI. 



Mule Spinning. 

About one hundred and thirty-five years ago, 
or to be more exact, between 1764 and 1768, 
James Har graves invented a spinning machine 
called the spinning jenny. It consisted of a row 
of vertical spindles, driven by bands from a cylin- 
der, which was driven by a large band from a 
hand wheel. The roving was drawn away from 
the spindles by a slide, and when drawn out twist 
was put in by turning the spindles. The slide 
was then reversed and the twisted yam was 
wound on the spindles. 

About the same time, Arkwright invented a 
spinning machine, which on account of its being 
driven by water power, was called a water frame. 
It had a set of rollers for drawing out the roving, 
and the yarn was wound on a bobbin by means of 
a flyer. About ten years after this, Samuel 
Crompton invented a machine which retained 
the drawing-out and winding features of the 
jenny, but had the rollers of the water frame. 
From the fact that it retained features of both 
machines, and was in this respect a hybrid, it was 
called a mule, a name which it has retained ever 
since. The first mules were called hand mules, 
not because they were run by hand, but because 
many of the motions now done automatically 



Carding and Spinning. 135 

were then done by hand. On this account, a 
very skillful man was required to attend to the 
various details, and only one machine could be 
run by an operative. Many successive improve- 
ments were made, until now all the motions are 
automatic, and the machine is known as a self- 
acting mule. 

The action of the mule is very complex, or 
rather the mechanism. Three lines of rollers 
draw out the roving just as in a spinning frame. 
Here the similarity ceases. When the rollers 
begin to deliver the roving the other end is held 
by the spindle, which is only a few inches from 
the rollers. As the roving is delivered, the car- 
riage holding the spindles gradually recedes for 
about five feet, the spindles in the meantime rap- 
idly revolving, thereby putting in the twist. The 
rollers do not deliver the yarn quite as fast as 
the carriage recedes, and an additional draft 
takes place, which is known as the gain, and is 
usually about three inches. This action, as was 
explained in the previous chapter, has a very 
important bearing on the quality of the yarn. 
When the carriage stops, the rollers stop deliver- 
ing the yarn, but usually the spindles run a little 
longer and complete the twisting process. This 
twisting process contracts the yarn, and if it is 
very fine will break it, unless there is a mechan- 
ism to compensate for the contraction. There is 
now from 60 to 66 inches of twisted yarn between 



136 Carding and Spinning. 

the spindles and the rollers, and also a few inches 
wound in a spiral on the spindles between the top 
or nose of the cop and the top of the spindle. In 
order to uncoil this, the spindles run backward 
a few revolutions, after which the carriage starts 
back towards the rollers much more rapidly than 
it came out. While this is taking place, the 
spindles are slowly turning and winding the 
slack yarn, which is guided by two tight wires 
stretched the entire length of the carriage, and 
known as the fallers and counter-fallers. The 
whole process from the time the carriage leaves 
the rollers until it returns, is called a "draw'^ in 
England, and a ^^stretch'' in this country. 

A very little reflection will show how compli- 
cated the machine is. The rollers must stop at 
exactly the right time. The carriage motion 
must be square with the head-stock. The back- 
ing off must be exactly right, and the filler mo- 
tion must be suited to the shape of the cop, or the 
yarn may be stretched on one hand or kinked on 
the other. The problem is somewhat similar to 
that of winding roving on a bobbin constantly 
increasing in diameter, for of course the base of 
cop is larger than the apex. Then, too, the base 
is wound on a cop tube, which is usually a true 
cylinder, and after the base is wound provision 
must be made for the taper of the spindle. The 
spindles, too, have varying speed. As they begin 
to revolve, the speed is gradually accelerated, and 



Carding and Spinning. 137 

is diminished as the carriage nears the beam. 
Taken as a whole, the mule is probably the most 
complicated machine in existence, besides which 
a Linotype or Northrop loom is a mere toy. 
Were it not for the fact that such a vast industry 
depends upon it, it would never have received 
the attention necessary for its present develop- 
ment. The very fact that so many are concerned 
in its success, has given it the benefit of many 
inventors. Were its manufacture a monopoly, it 
is safe to say it would not have attained its pres- 
ent degree of excellence, but there always being 
at least half a dozen large machine builders at 
work on them, a great many inventions are tried 
where one meritorious one is adopted. 

CALCULATIONS. 

The calculations in mule spinning are more 
complicated than in ring spinning, and there are 
a number of methods of arriving at the same re- 
sult. We give below what we consider the sim- 
plest methods for the most necessary calcula- 
tions. 

Draft. — Where very short cotton is being spun, 
there is no gain in the carriage, and the calcula- 
tion is exactly as for ring frames. 



138 Carding and Spinning. 

Driving. Driven. 

Diam. of front roller 8 (eigMllS) Diam, of back roller 7 

Back roller gear 60. Draft gear 45. 

Cro^^n gear 120. The front roller gear 30. 

8 X 60 X 130 

= 9.14 = Draft. 

7 X 45 X 30 

Draft constant = draft multiplied by draft 
gear. 

To find the draft when there is a gain in the 
carriage : If the roller delivery is 60'', and the to- 
tal stretch is 64'', making a gain of 4", the draft is 
evidently 1 4-60, or 1.066. We found when con- 
sidering the draft in the drawing frame that the 
total draft is the product of the separate drafts, 
so in the above example the total draft is 9.14 X 
1.066 = 9.74. 

To find the draft in the rollers when the num- 
bers to be spun, the gain, and the hank roving 
are known: 

Rule. — Suhtract the gain from the total stretch. 
This gives the amount to he delivered by the 
rollers. Multiply this by the numbers required, 
amd divide by the product of the stretch multi- 
plied by the hank roving. 

Example. — Number to be spun 40's, hank rov- 
ing 5, stretch 64", gain 4", what draft is required 
in the rollers? 

64 — 4 = 60 

60 X 40 

= 7.05 = Draft. 

64 X 5 



Carding and Spinning. 



139 



Table of Draft Constants. Mason Mule. 



Inch. 
Diameter of Front Roller 1 
Diameter of Back Roller | 

Front Roller Gear 30 

Change Gear 

Crown Gear 110 

Back Roller Gear 70 

Constant -..-293.40 



Inch. 
Diameter of Front Roller 1 
Diameter of Back Roller | 

Front Roller Gear 30 

Change Gear 

Crown Gear ...- 130 

Back Roller Gear . . 70 

Constant,.. -346. 58 



Constant h- Draft = Draft Gear. 

Table of Length and Weight of Cops. 



Gauge 
of Mule. 



2 

If 
1* 
If 



Lengtli 
of Cop. 



8 

8 

71 



Weight 
of Cop. 



1200 grs. 
1000 

600 

500 



Gauge 
of Mule. 



Length 
of Cop. 



-LT6 

H 

1 3 

U 



6 

5f 

:5f 



Weight 
Cop. 



350 
300 
350 
200 



To find the number of stretches in a cop : 

Rule. — Multiply the weight in grains by the 
number of yarn and SJfO^ and divide by 1,000^ 
This will give the number of yards in a cop. Mul- 
tiply this by 86 for the number of inches and di- 
vide by the number of inches in a stretch. 

Example. — How many stretches in a cop of 30's 
made on 1^' space, stretch 64''? 

Eeferring to table, we find that the cop will 
weigh 600 grains. 

600 X 30 X 840 

=2160 yards. 

7000 

2160 X 36 = 77760 inches. 

77760 

= 1215 stretches. 

64 



140 



Carding and Spinning. 



To find the change gear on builder screw : 
Rule. — Divide the numher of stretches in a cop 
hy the number of thread in use on the screw. 

Table of Constants for Builder Gears. Mason Mule. 



Space 


Threads in 


Weight of 


For 60 Inch 


For 64 Inch 


of Mule. 


Use. 


Cop. 


Stretch. 


Stretch. 


2 


53 


1200 


1.69 


1.56 


If 


52 


1000 


1.38 


1.29 


^ 


52 


600 


.83 


.78 


1| 


52 


500 


.55 


.52 


li^ 


52 


350 


.48 


.44 


li 


52 


300 


.42 


.39 


1t\ 


52 


250 


.34 


.32 


li 


52 . 


200 


.27 


.26 



Constant X No. of yarn = Gear. 

TWIST. 

The twist in mule-spun yarn varies greatly ac- 
cording to the purpose for which it is intended 
and also according to the quantity of cotton. As 
we stated in a previous chapter, the usual custom 
is as follows : 

Hosiery yarn, the square root of number X 2.50. 
Yarn for doubling, the square root of number X 2.75. 
Filling yarn, the square root of number X 3.25. 
Warp yarn, the square root of number X 3.75. 

When the mule is running, the easiest way to 
get the twist is to get the speed of spindles by 
means of a speed indicator on cylinder shaft. 
This number divided by the inches in a stretch 
gives the twist being put in. When it is desired 
to calculate the twist, it becomes a very difficult 



Carding and Spinning. 141 

matter to make a universal rule. In fact, such 
a rule is impossible, for various makes of mules 
have different arrangements for driving the spin- 
dles and rollers. The following is the method of 
getting the twist for a Mason mule where the rim 
pulley is at the back, and will apply to any mule 
with similar arrangement of gears: 

Example. — Diameter of rim pulley, 16 inches; 
diameter of cylinder, 6 inches; spur portion of 
spur and bevel compound gear, 50 teeth; bevel 
gear on front roll sleeve, 48 teeth; diameter of 
spindle whirl f '' ; diameter of pulley on cylinder 
shaft, 10 inches; speed change gear, 30 teeth; 
bevel portion of spur and bevel compound gear, 
24 teeth ; cir. of front roller, 3.1416 in. 

Then- 
is X 6 X 50 X 48 

. = 12.73 

.75 X 10 X 30 X 24 X 3.1416 

This is the theoretical twist, from which de- 
ductions must be made for size of bands and also 
slip of bands. 

To change the twist gear when changing num- 
bers, the rule is the same as for other machines, 
viz., square present gear, multiply hy numbers 
required^ divide by the number being spun, and 
extract the square root of the quotient. 



142 Carding and Spinning. 

production. 

The production of mules is not altogether like 
other machines depending on the twist. When 
a change in the numbers is desired, there are two 
places where the twist is changed. It may either 
be done by changing the rim wheel, which will 
change the speed of spindles, or the speed gear 
may be changed, changing the speed of the roll- 
ers. The latter method is usually adopted, ex- 
cept when very wide variations are desired. The 
following table gives an average speed, which 
under favorable conditions is sometimes exceed- 
ed. It is calculated for a ten-hours run, and an 
allowance has been made for necessary stops. 



Carding and Spinning. 



143 



Production Table for Mules, 10 Hours. 





Ci±. J. 1 


TT 1 1~\ 


Pounds Per Day. 


' Number 
"■ of Yarn. 


Stretches 


Hanks Per 




Per Minute. 


Spindle 


Without 


With 5 Per 




64 Inches. 


Per Day. 


Roller 
Motion. 


Cent Roller 
Motion. 


6 


6.00 


6.85 


1.14 


1.20 


8 


6.00 


6.85 


.85 


.89 


10 


6.00 


6.85 


.82 


.85 


12 


6.00 


6.85 


.57 


.59 


14 


5 50 


6.28 


.45 


.47 


16 


5 50 


6.28 


.39 


.41 


18 


5.50 


6.28 


.35 


.36 


20 


5.50 


6.28 


.31 


.33 


22 


5.50 


6.28 


.28 


.29 


24 


5.50 


6.28 


.26 


.27 


26 


5.25 


6.00 


.2S 


.24 


28 


5.25 


6.00 


.21 


.22 


30 


5.25 


6.00 


.20 


.21 


32 


5.25 


6.00 


.18 


.19 


34 


5.25 


6.00 


.17 


.18 


36 


5.125 


5.85 


.161 


.170 


38 


5.125 


5.85 


.153 


.161 


40 


5.00 


5.71 


.141 


.148 


42 


5.00 


5.71 


.135 


.141 


44 


4.75 


5.42 


.121 


.128 


46 


4.75 


5.42 


.116 


.123 


48 


4 50 


5.24 


.108 


.113 


50 


4.50 


5.24 


.103 


.110 


52 


4.25 


4.85 


.091 


.097 


54 


4.25 


4.85 


.089 


.093 


56 


4.25 


4.85 


.085 


.090 


58 


4.25 


4.85 


.083 


.085 


60 


4.125 


4.71 


.078 


.083 


62 


4.125 


471 


.075 


.078 


64 


4.125 


4.71 


.073 


.076 


66 


4.125 


4 71 


.070 


.073 


68 


4.00 


4.57 


.066 


.070 


70 


4.00 


4.57 


.065 


.068 


72 


4.00 


4.57 


. .063 


.066 


74 


4.00 


4 57 


.061 


.063 


76 


4.00 


4.57 


.060 


.061 


78 


4.00 


4.57 


.058 


.060 


80 


4.00 


4.57 


.057 


.059 



144 Carding and Spinning. 

Mule Cop Building. — Cop building in the true 
sense of the word, must not be confused with 
building cops on an old mule that has been fixed 
time and again. In order to understand the sub- 
ject, it is necessary to understand the principle 
on which the machine operates. There is a dif- 
ference in this respect between different makes 
of mules. When a man attempts to file a coping 
rail or plate, he must first know what principle is 
used on the mule he is to work on. On an auto- 
matic engine lathe, the reverse of the pattern 
being set just where the tool post will pass it, it 
what is called the direct principle. In this case 
there is a hollow place on the pattern presented 
to the adjusting part of the tool post, and it will 
form a bulge on the piece being turned, or a 
bulge on the pattern will form a depression. 
However, if the action of the cutter in the tool 
post is worked on the double action principle, a 
correct counterpart of the piece to be turned 
must be in front of the tool post. The action of 
the rail in the mule is similar. If the motion to 
the fallers is direct, when there is a hollow in the 
rail it will produce a bulge in the cop, but if the 
action is transmitted to the fallers through dou- 
ble-acting mechanism, it will have the opposite 
effect on the cop. We must bear in mind that 
the length of the nose will be the perpendicular 
height between the highest and lowest part of the 
rail. It is possible to upset all calculations by 



Carding and Spinning. 145 

having part of the rails flattened, rounded or 
hollowed, so that the fallers are almost brought 
to a standstill, and no mathematical equation 
can determine exactly where the yarn will be 
wound. We know that if the faller is retarded 
while it is passing the highest part of the rail, it 
will wind too much at that point. We also know 
that the superfluous coils will fall over each other 
and we get "run under'' cops. From the highest 
point in the front coping plate, generally marked 
as the standard, and the highest part in the 
back plate, also so marked, the lengthening out 
of the nose will be regulated until the cop bottom 
is fully built, and the plates will at the same time 
be on the point of the true inclined plane on both 
plates alike, and thus maintain a straight-bodied 
cop during the rest of the set. 

Although the quadrant has an important part 
to play in the building of a cop, that part will be 
fully discussed a little further on. The writer 
has heard and read a great deal of advice as to 
how to build a well-shaped cop by moving the 
plate in or out a little. Of course this will 
shorten or lengthen the nose, but it is not the 
proper place for that adjustment. This should 
be adjusted by the screws in the rail intended for 
that very purpose. Moving the back plate in or 
out has been the beginning of a great deal of 
trouble with mule cops. One plate is brought 
to the straight incline before the other, and the 
10 



146 Carding and Spinning. 

inexperienced man will attempt to correct the 
trouble by filing the plate. If this has been done, 
the plates should be put back, and when they 
have been turned well down on the straight in- 
cline, the length of the nose can be adjusted by 
the adjusting screws in the rail. The faller 
should now be set at the right height on the 
spindle by the slot and screws in the faller leg. 
Care must be taken that the center of action in 
the faller will be between tha spindle bolsters and 
where the faller stops up. If this is out of posi- 
tion one way, it will build thick at the bottom 
and thin at the top; if the other way, thin at 
the bottom and thick at the top. 

Bad Cop Noses. — The causes for these are le- 
gion. A great many bad cops are made through 
ignorance, and also a great many by neglect, or 
in order to make the work easier for the spinner. 
Sometimes when the yarns are spun from short 
or weak cotton, they will not stand much strain, 
and the operative will run the quadrant chain too 
high, paying off too much slack yarn. This will 
make soft cops, for if there is too much weight 
on the under faller to get the cops fairly firm, it 
will be so high just before the mule reaches the 
back stops, that it would require the nose peg to 
be well down in the slot in the quadrant arms in 
order to take up the slack yarn and make a firm, 
evenly-tapered nose. This being the case the spin- 
ner allows it to go slack, and hence we have soft 



Carding and Spinning. 147 

noses. All kinds of tender yarns need very careful 
handling in spinning as well as in other processes. 
There are many kinds of goods which require this 
tender yarn, and we must have it made with 
good noses. In order to do this, we must have 
as few faller weights as can be run with. The 
quadrant chain must not be too high. The quad- 
rant must be set so that it will give a medium 
wind. If the quadrant has too many teeth out 
from the pinion forward, the under faller rising 
too high, the winding will commence too slack, 
but will finish too tight, and there will be too 
much pressure on the weak yarn. Some of the 
ends may be broken, but a great many more will 
be strained. On the other hand, do not have the 
quadrant too far front, or it will start winding 
too tight and end too slack. The mean between 
the two extremes must be found, so that the under 
faller will ride about an inch above the spindles' 
points until just before the carriage gets in. It 
will not require much nose peg to take up the 
slack yarn caused by the short distance the faller 
has to rise after unlocking. There must be good 
judgment used in adjusting the faller chain. If 
the mule has an automatic tightener, it should 
be adjusted so as to follow the yarn closely dur- 
ing backing off. It must not press too much, or 
it will build a long, thin nose, laying too many 
coils on the point of cop at each stretch. If the 
adjusting of the faller chain has to be done by 



148 Carding and Spinning. 

hand, the spinner must be taught to notice it 
every time he passes it, and turn the screw for 
that purpose a little each time, but to do it fre- 
quently. He must also be taught to keep the 
rim band at a nice tention, and not too slack, or 
the carriage will bounce out as though the belt 
were too tight. If it is too tight it will act as a 
break on the cylinder shaft during winding. 
Either of these extremes will have a bad effect on 
the yarn. 

The proper adjustment of the drawing-in scrolls 
will have considerable effect on the noses. If the 
scroll is too far back, with the thicker part of 
the scroll taking hold of the drawing up, the 
carriage will start off too abruptly, putting a 
sudden strain on the yarn and probably break- 
ing many ends. It will also get to the smaller 
part of the scroll just as the carriage should 
keep up a steady pace. This will retard the car- 
riage in such a way that any one standing at the 
mule end can notice it hanging a little. This 
will not only tend to cut the yam, but prevent 
the fallers from making a clean nose. Like set- 
ting the quadrant, the mean between this and 
starting the carriage off too slow must be care- 
fully found. The carriage must start off easily 
but firmly, keeping up a steady speed and get- 
ting the necessary retardation at the proper time. 
We must especially avoid sudden changes of 
tension, and the carriage should get to the back 



Carding and Spinning. 149 

stops just as the fallers unlock, without jerks. 
The inclined slide on the floor under the "salmon 
head" that holds the f aller weights must be prop- 
erly adjusted. There should be from one- half 
to three-quarter inches from the face of the sal- 
mon heads, so that the under f aller may just hold 
the yarn when the mule is backing off. The 
others should just touch, and the inclines should 
be of that pitch so that the salmon heads will 
slide evenly down until they all bear equally on 
the yarn without any jerk or sudden change of 
tention. This adjustment is for weak yarns. 
Stronger yarns will require a slightly different 
arrangement. 

The good spinner will have but little trouble 
along these lines, and the above is written for 
those who do. There are some makes of mules 
where the quadrant can not be adjusted to get a 
steady wind for all kinds of work. One tooth is 
too much either way. There are other mules 
where the position of the quadrant can be 
change by the bands almost to a hair's breadth. 
The rail is so constructed on some mules that it 
is very difficult to finish off a nose on tender yarn. 
The writer, when spinning hosiery yarn and 
coarse filling for cotton flannel, has taken out 
the rails and planed them off gradually for five 
or six inches from nothing down to one-quarter 
inch, and found that it helped matters a great 
deal. The fallers went up quicker at the point 



150 Carding and Spinning. 

and left a loose coil just above the nose, giving a 
good finish. Many new mnles are now built this 
way. 

Cut Yarn. — In discussing this we will assume 
that the roving is all right, but will warn the 
spinner that he is expected to watch the roving 
carefully and call the carder's attention to any 
defect. There are a great many causes for cut 
yarn. One of the principal ones is improper set- 
ting of the gears. A great many men have the 
idea that gears should be set as deep as possible. 
They were never made with this intention, and 
if set just deep enough, will give a much smooth- 
er motion than if they bottom. Gears which are 
badly worn should never be used on the rollers. 
They are put into gear so deep that the rollers 
have a trembling, jerking motion which is very 
injurious to the yarn. 

The majority of the causes which tend to make 
cut yarn on the mule will also cause it on the ring 
frame, and have been fully discussed under that 
head. There are a few causes which are peculiar 
to the mule, and among them is that of having 
the belt too tight. When this is the case the 
carriage bounces out from the beam with a sud- 
den jerk. This is especially the case just after 
dofftng, when the spindles turn easier on account 
of the lighter loads. It will also occur when 
the carriage is not square. In these days, when 
there is a great push for production, there is a 



Carding and Spinning. 151 

great tendency to run belts too tight. This is 
bad on the yarn, especially when there is a small 
rim band. When the mule is very long, with a 
perpendicular driving belt, and perhaps short at 
that, a small top pulley and but little contact on 
the driving pulley, the belts must be tight in order 
to do the work. In this case, it is a good idea to 
put a pinch of powdered starch on the belt every 
three or four minutes for about a half an hour. 
By this time the spindles begin to get weighted, 
and the belt will be all right. 
Squaring the Carriage. — This part of mule work 

seems so simple that almost any boy in the room 
thinks he can do it, but there are times when it 
is not such an easy job. It is all very easy when 
we know that the top band has stretched and 
allowed the carriage to go too far in. It is nec- 
essary then to tighten the top band, but care must 
be had that the carriage is not too near the beam, 
leaving only a few inches of the under rope off 
the scroll. When we turn the back shaft and lift 
up the mendozen when the carriage gets out, we 
will find it will spring back some, and the car- 
riage will still be out of square. Again, the 
other top band may be already too much forward, 
allowing very little of the incline on the drawing- 
out scroll to come into play. In this case, the 
carriage will strike out too hard, or the reverse 
may be the case. A good plan, when we know 
the bands are all right and the carriage is square. 



162 Carding and Spinning. 

is to put a chisel mg^rk through the end of the 
back shaft at the mule end. Afterward, when 
we come along and see that the mule is not square 
we can tell at a glance if the back shaft needs 
regulating by the middle band before working at 
the end. A good man can often do better work 
while the mule is working than by stopping it 
and using his rule. Mule men should train their 
eyes well, and can tell by looking at a carriage if 
the bands are properly adjusted. Sometimes the 
carriage may appear to be out of square when it 
is really not the case. Examine the back coup- 
lings, the drawing out scroll fastenings, keys 
and set screws, lift up the mendozen, slack off 
all the drawbands, twist the shaft well at every 
joint or scroll, and you will often find the evil 
which has bothered many men for weeks. 

GENERAL INFORMATION. 

Mules are usually set across a mill and occupy 
the whole space, except perhaps three feet on each 
side for a passway. The number of spindles will 
depend on the available space. A rule to obtain 
the length is to multiply the space by the number 
of spindles and add 6 feet. Thus, a mill 100 feet 
wide would take mules of 530 spindles if 2-inch 
gauge, and 550 if H inch. These mules would 
be rather short, and it would be better to have a 
mill 125 or 150 feet wide. A pair of mules, hav- 
ing a 64-inch stretch, occupy a space of about 18 



Carding and Spinning. 153 

feet from back to back of creels, and 20 feet from 
back to back of head-stocks. As these dodge one 
another, a 22-foot space will allow sufficient room 
for creeling, etc. It will be seen then, that mules 
occupy about two square feet of space per spindle, 
or something over twice as much as spinning 
frames. Mills built for mules usually have the 
bays wider than if built for a spinning frame. 
If the bays have the usual 8-foot span, there will 
either be a good deal of waste of space, or the 
mules will have to be lengthways with the mill, 
which is not so good an arrangement on account 
of the creels shutting off the light. 

Until twenty or twenty-five years ago, numbers 
finer than 100 were spun on hand mules, as it was 
found very difficult to build a mule that would 
spin the fine numbers automatically without 
stretching the yarn. Now, however, the self-act- 
ing mule can spin 300's as well or better than it 
could spin 100 a few years ago. For experi- 
mental purposes, as high as 2000's have been 
spun, but for practical purposes 400's is about 
the limit. 

For spinning fine numbers special attachments 
are put on the ordinary mule. The principal mo- 
tions for this purpose are as follows : 

Jacking out, or causing the carriage to run 
out very slowly during the last few inches. 

Eoller motions, or the delivery of a few inches 
of yarn while winding and twisting. 



154 Carding and Spinning. 

Double speed, or two sets of pulleys on counter 
shaft and rim shaft. These are to give the spin- 
dles a slow speed when the carriage is running 
out, and a much quicker one when it reaches the 
end of the stretch. 

Koller bearings for fallers and counter-fallers. 

Single boss rolls, or only one thread for each 
boss. 

Second, or after-stretch motions. 

Electricity is now being used by some of the 
European builders for driving the mule, a motor 
being placed on the carriage and one on the head- 
stock. Motors have been used to some extent in 
driving spinning frames also. We do not mean 
for driving the shafting, for that is being done in 
in a dozen mills in North and South Carolina, 
but driving the frames direct, a motor being 
placed between two frames and connected to each 
by friction clutches. The first mill in which 
this was tried on any considerable scale gave the 
plan a bad name from which it has never recov- 
ered. It was known that about 2-| horse power 
was required to run a frame, so a motor of 5 
horse power was put in for two frames. The en- 
gineer failed to consider the fact that while 2^ 
horse power would run a frame, it took at least 
double that to start it, and the plan was a com- 
plete failure until much larger motors were in- 
stalled. 

A mule of If-inch space, having 468 spindles, 



Carding and Spinning. 155 

costs $2.68 per spindle. The weight per spindle 
is about 20 pounds, practically the same as for 
spinning frames, or perhaps a little less. A 
horsepower will run from 125 to 150 spindles. It 
will be seen that they are much more economical 
with power than a spinning frame. The casual 
observer would suppose the opposite to be the 
case. The difference lies in the fact that on the 
mule the spindle motion, which absorbs more 
than half the power, is intermittent. Then, too, 
the mule has no traveller pull, which is nearly 
one-fourth of the load of a spinning frame. 



166 Carding and Spinning. 

CHAPTER VII. 



Processes Subsequent to Spinning. 

spooling. 

Unless it is to be dyed, yarn spun for filling 
goes direct from the mule or spinning frame to 
the loom, and we will not treat of it further. 
Yarn for other purposes is either coned or 
spooled, and as most of it is spooled, we will con- 
sider this first. A spooler is so simple a machine 
that its importance is often lost sight of. The 
cost of spooling per pound often exceeds the 
entire cost of carding. A great deal of bad work 
is often done at the spooler, and considering the 
amount of skill required by the operator, the 
spooling process will stand as much intelligent 
supervision as any department in the mill. A 
few years ago long knots were the chief trouble 
about spooling, but now practically all the mills 
use the Barber knotter, and this trouble is elimi- 
nated. Within the past few months a knotter 
has been imported from England which sells for 
$1.25, and seems to do the work effectively. In 
England, the spoolers are required to tie weav- 
ers' knots. 

CALCULATIONS. 

The only calculation about a spooler is for pro- 
duction. This varies a great deal with the skill 



Carding and Spinning. 157 

of the operative, and on other conditions. The 
writer is satisfied that a great deal of bad yarn is 
caused by its being strained at the spooler. Warp 
yarn should possess as much elasticity as possi- 
ble in order to enable it to stand the sudden and 
severe strain of shedding and beating up in the 
loom. If the yarn is spooled at high tension, 
which is almost synonymous with high speed, 
much of this elasticity is taken out and the weav- 
ing suffers. If we take a spool 4 inches in diam- 
eter with IJ-inch barrel, a little calculation will 
show that when the spool is full, not counting 
the piling-up process, it is winding between 2 and 
3 times as fast as when empty. If the spindles 
run 800 revolutions per minute, the yam is wind- 
ing at the rate of 280 yards, or 25 times as fast 
as it is being spun. For the best results, the 
spindles should never run faster than 800 revolu- 
lutions, and even a slower speed in many cases 
would be beneficial. With a slower speed, the 
spooling does not cost any more, but simply calls 
for more spindles. 



158 



Carding and Spinning. 





Production Table 


: FOR 


Spoolers, 10 Hours. 




Spools. 






Revolutions of Spindles. 


No. of 






Weight 


Num- 








Spinn'g 












Spin- 


■■■' 




of Yarn 


ber of 


750 


800 


900 


dles to 


T A«.^>«.4-1« 


Diame- 
ter. 


on Spool. 


Yarn. 








one 


Liengtii. 








Spooler 










Pounds. 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 


Spin. 










' 8 


10.7 


11.5 


12.9) 












10 


8.6 


9.2 


10.3^ 


12 


6 in. 


5 in. 


30 OZ. 


-< 


12 
14 


7.2 
6.2 


7.7 
6.6 


8.6) 

7.4) 












16 


5.4 


5.8 


6.5^ 


13 










r 18 


4.8 


5.2 


5.8) 












20 


4.3 


4.6 


5.2) 












22 


3.9 


4.2 


4.7 V 


'14 


6 in. 


4 in. 


19 oz. 


i 24 


3.6 


3.8 


4.3) 












26 


3.3 


3.6 


4.0) 












28 


3.1 


3.3 


3.7^ 


15 










30 


2.9 


3.1 


3.5) 












32 


2.7 


2.9 


3.3) 




5 in. 


4 in. 


16 OZ. 


\ 34 


2.6 


2.8 


3.1 t 


16 










[ 36 


2.4 


2.6 


2.9) 












' 38 


2.3 


2.4 


2.7 i 
2.6 f 
2.4 


17 


A ^ * 


m * 


11 oz. 




40 


2.2 


2.3 


4|in. 


3^ in. 


■• 


44 


2.0 


2.1 


18 










50 


1.8 


1.9 


2.1 


19 








C 60 


1.5 


1.6 


1.8 


20 


4iin. 


3iin. 


9oz. 


\ 70 


1.3 


1.4 


1.5 


21 








( 80 


1.1 


1.2 


1.3 


22 








j 90 
|100 


1.0 


1.1 


1.2 


23 


Sin. 


2f in. 


4oz. 


.9 


1.0 


1.1 


24 



Carding and Spinning. 159 

If the length of yarn on a spool is desired, 
multiply the weight in ounces by 437^ to reduce 
it to grains, and divide by 840, multiplied by the 
number of yarn. Fine numbers will weigh and 
measure more in proportion than coarse numbers 
on account of the strands lying closer together. 
A good deal of energy is sometimes lost trying to 
change the traverse so that the yarn will lay 
closer together, enabling more yarn to be put on 
a spool. All that can be done is to get a mean 
between the full and empty spools, and arrange 
the traverse so that when the spool is half full 
the coils are as close together as possible with- 
out riding. To be mathematically correct, half 
full means when half the number of bobbins have 
been wound, and not when half the available di- 
ameter is full. 

It is sometimes necessary to change a spooler 
from a 6-inch traverse to a shorter one. On the 
Whitin spooler, or any other where the traverse 
is worked by a gear, the change is effected by 
changing the number of teeth in proportion to 
the change desired in the traverse. If the pres- 
ent gear has 18 teeth, and is running a 6-inch tra- 
verse, it takes three teeth for each inch, and 15 
teeth will make a 5-inch traverse. On some 
spoolers the change will have to be made by 
shortening the rocker arms. 

One of the principal troubles about a spooler 
is running the spools so full that the yarn is 



160 Carding and Spinning. 

liable to tangle off. A good way to prevent this 
is to have a board put just back of the spool the 
whole length of the frame, just thick enough for 
a full spool to go on. With this arrangement, 
when the spool gets full enough, the friction on 
the board will stop it, and it can be replaced by 
an empty one. 

Waste. — A great deal of waste is frequently 
made by one head of the spool coming off, which 
is usually caused by letting the spool fall. A 
preventive is always better than a cure, and the 
best preventive is to use spools bound with raw 
hide. They cost about 3^ cents more than the 
ordinary kind, but are certainly worth the dif- 
ference. In a mill where number 20's was made 
and the spools used very often, a lot of 1,200 of 
these spools were used for nearly three years, 
only one breaking, while the ordinary kind were 
being broken every day. However, all mills do 
not have these, and where a spool holds a pound 
of yarn it is too great a waste to throw it away. 
If the yarn remains solid and has not begun to 
tangle off, the end of the spool can be coated with 
tallow, which when it hardens will make it firm 
enough to be run off. This would not work very 
well if the yarn were to be dyed. But for white 
work it is all right. If only part of the head is 
broken, a nail can be driven into the barrel so as 
to keep the yarn from tangling. 



Carding and Spinning. 161 

Big- Ended Spools. — These are usually caused by 
having the traverse nearer one end than the other. 
In order to have a barrel-shape to the spool and 
get more yarn on it, it is customary to have the 
traverse from l-16th to l-8th inch short at each 
end. Where this distance is not equal at both 
ends, an ill-shaped spool is made. This is not al- 
ways the cause. On some spoolers the lifting 
rods are lifted by chains running over rollers. If 
the rollers are placed so that the chain is not 
exactly parallel to the lifting rod, a cone-shaped 
spool will be formed. 

GENERAL INFORMATION. 

Spoolers are usually built with 100 spindles, 
but can be had with any number from 40 to 200. 
The length can be ascertained by multiplying 
one-half the number of the spindles by the space, 
which should be three-quarters of an inch more 
than the diameter of the spools, and adding one 
foot. The width is about 4 feet 9 inches, includ- 
ing bobbin boxes. Spoolers cost about |3.00 per 
spindle, and weigh from 30 to 40 pounds per spin- 
dle. About all machine builders now make 
them with metal creels and boxes, which are 
much better than wooden ones. About 300 spin- 
dles will absorb a horsepower. An operative 
usually attends to one side of the spooler, which 
is generally 50 spindles. On very coarse yarn 
two will be needed for one side, giving 25 spindles 

to each. It is always well to determine before- 
11 



162 Carding and Spinning. 

hand about how many spindles an operative can 
keep up for the number of yarn it is proposed to 
make, and order the length accordingly. Thus, 
if number sixteens were to be spun, 50 spindles 
would be too much for one hand and not enough 
for two. 

TWISTING. 

Twisting in England is usually done on a 
mule which is called a twiner. They are gener- 
ally made with a movable carriage, but some- 
times with the carriage stationery and the creel 
movable. The English were slow to appreciate 
the advantages of the ring spinning frame, and 
slower still those of the ring twister. They call 
the latter a ring doubling frame. 

On worsted and silks, where the cost of the 
material is great, the doubling is often done on a 
separate machine — a doubling spooler — so that 
the waste is not nearly so great. Cotton mills 
usually spool the yarn separately, and do the 
doubling on the twister. On two-ply work, the 
number of twister spindles is about one-half that 
required for spinning. The essential features are 
the same as in a spinning frame, the only differ- 
ence being the rollers and creels. 

Calculations, — There are only two calculations 
about a twister, viz., production and twist. These 
are intimately associated with each other, the 
less the twist the greater being the production. 



Carding and Spinning. 163 

Twist. — The rule for twist of ply yarn gener- 
ally used in England is the same as for warp on 
the spinning frame, viz., 3.75 times the square 
root of the number. By the number we mean 
the number after it is twisted, 50's twisted 2-ply 
will make 25. The square root of 25 is 5, and 5 
times 3.75 is 18.75. Yarn twisted by this stand- 
ard will not kink but look round and even. In 
America, more twist is usually put in, there be- 
ing three so-called standards. These are 4, 5 and 
6 times the square root of the number of the yarn 
after it is twisted. For convenience of reference, 
we give on the following pages the production, 
twist and speed for all ordinary conditions. 



164 



Carding and Spinning. 



Production and Twist Tables for Twisted Yarn. 













TWO 


PLY. 












o. of Yarn 

to be 
Twisted. 


m 


O <p 

O-M 


Sq. 


Root X 4. 


Sq. 


Root X 5. 


Sq. 


Root X 6. 


Ofl 

©cc 


© ^ fl' 

1^^ 


DO 


o © 


u © 

a ft 




o © 






O © 

> o 


©S 

2^1 


« 


D3 


m 


H 


^02 


H 


a; 32 


H 


(1,02 


6 


4500 


1.73 


6.93 


138 


3.98 


8.66 


110 


3.18 


10.39 


92 


2.67 


7 


4750 


1.87 


7.48 


135 


3,34 


9.85 


108 


2.69 


11.22 


90 


2.22 


8 


5000 


2. 


8. 


183 


2.87 


10. 


106 


2.29 


12.00 


88 


L91 


9 


5200 


2.12 


8.49 


130 


2.50 


10.61 


104 


2.01 


12.73 


87 


L67 


10 


5300 


2.23 


8.94 


126 


2.18 


11.18 


101 


L75 


13.42 


84 


L46 


11 


6500 


2.34 


9.38 


124 


1.96 


11.73 


99 


L57 


14.07 


83 


L30 


12 


5550 


2.44 


9.80 


119 


1.71 


12.25 


95 


1.38 


14.70 


79 


L15 


13 


5650 


2.54 


10.20 


117 


1.57 


12.75 


94 


L25 


15.30 


78 


L05 


14 


5750 


2.64 


10.58 


115 


1.43 


13.23 


92 


L14 


15.87 


77 


.96 


15 


5900 


2.73 


10.95 


114 


1.31 


13.69 


91 


1.06 


16.43 


76 


.88 


16 


6000 


2.82 


11.31 


113 


1.22 


14.14 


90 


.98 


16.97 


75 


.81 


17 


6000 


2.91 


11.66 


109 


1.12 


14.58 


87 


.89 


17.49 


73 


.74 


18 


6050 


3.00 


12.06 


107 


1.03 


15.00 


86 


.82 


18.00 


71 


.69 


19 


6100 


3.08 


12.33 


105 


.96 


15.41 


84 


.77 


18.49 


70 


.64 


20 


6150 


3.16 


12.65 


103 


.91 


15.81 


82 


.78 


18.97 


69 


.60 


22 


6800 


3.31 


13.27 


101 


.80 


16.58 


81 


.64 


19.90 


67 


.54 


24 


6500 


3.46 


13.86 


99 


.73 


17.32 


80 


.58 


20.78 


66 


.49 


26 


6650 


3.60 


14.42 


98 


.66 


18.03 


78 


.53 


21.63 


65 


.44 


28 


6800 


3.74 


14.97 


96 


.60 


18.71 


77 


.48 


22.45 


64 


.40 


30 


6900 


3.87 


15.49 


94 


.55 


19.37 


75 


.44 


23.24 


63 


.37 


32 


7000 


4.06 


16.00 


93 


.51 


20.00 


74 


.41 


24.00 


62 


.34 


34 


7000 


4.12 


16.49 


90 


.46 


20.62 


72 


.37 


24.74 


60 


.31 


36 


7000 


4.24 


16.97 


87 


.42 


21.21 


70 


.34 


25.46 


58 


.29 


38 


7000 


4.35 


17.44 


85 


.39 


21.79 


68 


.32 


26.15 


57 


.26 


40 


7000 


4.47 


17.89 


83 


.37 


22.36 


66 


.30 


26.83 


65 


.24 


50 


7500 


5.00 


20.00 


79 


.28 


25.00 


64 


.22 


30.00 


53 


.19 


60 


7500 


5.47 


21.90 


73 


.22 


27.39 


58 


.17 


32.86 


48 


.15 



Note— The above table is for 1% inch roller, 
per cent more turns. 



1% inch should make 9 



Carding and Spinning. 



165 



Production and Twist Table for Twisted Yarn. 











THREE 


PLY 












i «• 


DO 


o 5 


1 Sq. 


Root X 4. 


Sq. 


Root X 5. 


Sq. 


Root X 6. 


« 'O 


<I> 


Square R 
of Twis 
Yarn. 




















^0.1 


1— 1 




<M ti 






(M ^ 


*-i CD 




t|H fi 


©r-l 




O 

P3 




O 03 

P5^ 


.a 




O 0) 

> o 




-t-5 


<B 


Q,T3 

.a 


6 


4000 


1.41 


5.66 


150 


6.48 


7.07 


120 


5.18 


8.49 


100 


4.33 


7 


4300 


1.52 


6.11 


149 


5.54 


7.64 


119 


4.43 


I 9.17 


99 


3.69 


8 


4550 


1.63 


6.53 


148 


4.80 


8.16 


118 


3.83 


^ 9.80 


98 


3.20 


9 


4800 


1.73 


6.93 


147 


4.23 


8.66 


117 


3.38 


i 10.39 


98 


2.82 


10 


5000 


1.82 


7.30 


145 


3.77 


9.13 


116 


3.02 


■ 10.95 


97 


2.51 


11 


5200 


1.91 


7.66 


144 


3.39 


9.57 


115 


2.71 


1 11.49 


96 


2.26 


12 


5350 


2.00 


8.00 


142 


3.07 


10.00 


113 


2.46 


1 12.00 


95 


2.05 


13 


5506 


2.08 


8.33 


140 


2.80 


10.41 


112 


2.24 


1 12.49 


93 


1.87 


14 


5600 


2.16 


8.64 


137 


2.54 


10.80 


110 


2.03 


! 12.96 


92 


L69 


15 


5750 


2.23 


8.94 


136 


2.36 


11.18 


109 


L89 


113.42 


91 


L57 


16 


5850 


2.30 


9.24 


134 


2.18 


11.55 


107 


L74 


13.86 


90 


1.45 


17 


5850 


2.38 


9.52 


130 


1.99 


11.90 


104 


L59 


14.28 


87 


1.33 


18 


5950 


2.44 


9.80 


129 


1.86 


12.25 


103 


1.49 


14.70 


86 


1.24 


19 


6000 


2.51 


10.07 


126 


1.72 


12.58 


101 


1.38 


15.10 


83 


1.15 


20 


6000 


2.58 


10.33 


123 


1.60 


12.91 


99 


1.28 


15.49 


82 


L07 


22 


6000 


2.70 


10.83 


117 


1.39 


13.54 


94 


1.12 


16.25 


78 


.93 


24 


6000 


2.82 


11.31 


113 


1.22 


14.14 


90 


.98 


16.97 


75 


.81 


26 


6100 


2.94 


11.76 


110 


1.09 


14.72 


88 


.87 


17.66 


73 


.73 


28 


6250 


3.05 


12.22 


108 


1.01 


15.28 


87 


.81 


18,33 


72 


.67 


30 


6400 


3.16 


12.65 


107 


.94 


15.81 


86 


.75 


18.97 


71 


.63 


32 


6500 


3.26 


13 06 


106 


.86 


16.33 


84 


.69 


19.60 


70 


.57 


34 


6500 


3.36 


13.47 


102 


.79 


16.83 


82 


,63 


20.20 


68 


.53 


36 


6500 


3.46 


13.86 


99 


.73 


17.32 


80 


.58 


20.78 


66 


.49 


38 


6500 


3.55 


14.24 


97 


.67 


17.80 


77 


.54 


21.35 


65 


.45 


40 


6500 


3.65 


14.61 


94 


.62 


18.26 


75 


.50 


31.91 


63 


.41 


50 


7000 


4.08 


16.33 


91 


.47 


20.41 


73 


.38 


24.49 


61 


.31 


60 


7000 


4.47 


17.89 


83 


.37 


22.36 


66 


.40 


26.83 


55 


.25 



Note.— The above table is for ly^ inch roller. 1% inch should make 
•9 per cent more turns. 



166 



Carding and Spinning. 



Production and Twist Tables for Twisted Yarn. 

FOUR PLY. 



a 




05 


Sq. 


Root X 4. 


Sq. Root X 5. I 


Sq. Root X 6. 


b nA 




o4s 








1 








e8 'o 


















{H S 


f— 1 




00 


t-i 




M 


wi 9 




• 


}-i 


<M'd 


luare 
of Tw 
Yarn. 




«M fl 


<D,-i 




<t-l U 


mi— < 




«M S 


«p=< 


b. Of 
to be 
Twis 






© 


f^l 

2;i 




QJ 


2|^ 






^"2 
21^ 


fzi 


« 


CO 


H 


Q^m 


H 


« 


f^m 


H 


^CQ 


6 


3500 


1.22 


4.90 


151 


8.73 


6.12 


121 


6.97 


7.35 


101 


5.82 


7 


3750 


L32 


5.29 


149 


7.39 


6.61 


120 


5.95 


7.94 


100 


4.95 


8 


3950 


L41 


5.66 


148 


6.40 


7.07 


118 


5.13 


8.49 


99 


4.27 


9 


4100 


1.50 


600 


145 


5.57 


7.50 


116 


4.46 


9.00 


97 


3.72 


10 


4300 


1.58 


6.32 


144 


4.99 


7.91 


115 


3.99 


9.49 


97 


3.33 


11 


4450 


1.65 


6.63 


142 


4.48 


8.29 


114 


3.58 


9.95 


95 


2.98 


12 


4600 


L73 


6.93 


141 


4.07 


8.66 


113 


3.25 


10.39 


94 


2.71 


13 


4700 


L80 


7.21 


138 


3.69 


9.01 


111 


2.94 


10.82 


92 


2.46 


14 


4800 


L87 


7.49 


136 


3.36 


9.35 


109 


2.69 


11.22 


91 


2.24 


15 


4900 


L93 


7.75 


134 


3.09 


9.68 


107 


2.48 


11.62 


89 


2.06 


16 


5000 


2.00 


8.00 


133 


2_87 


10.00 


106 


2.29 


12.00 


88 


L91 


17 


5100 


2.06 


8.25 


131 


2.67 


10.31 


105 


2.13 


12.37 


87 


L78 


18 


5200 


2.12 


8.49 


130 


2.50 


10.61 


104 


2.00 


12.73 


86 


L67 


19 


5250 


2.17 


8.72 


128 


2.32 


10.90 


102 


L86 


13.08 


85 


L55 


20 


5300 


2.23 


8.94 


126 


2.18 


11.18 


100 


L75 


13.42 


84 


L45 


22 


5450 


2.34 


9.38 


123 


1.94 


11.73 


99 


L56 


14.07 


82 


L29 


24 


5600 


2.44 


9.80 


121 


1.75 


12.25 


97 


L40 


14.70 


81 


L17 


26 


5700 


2.54 


10.20 


119 


1.58 


12.75 


95 


L26 


15.30 


79 


LOS 


28 


5800 


2.64 


10.58 


116 


L44 


13.23 


93 


L15 


15.87 


78 


.96 


30 


5900 


2.73 


10.95 


114 


L31 


13.69 


91 


LOS 


16.43 


76 


.87 


32 


5950 


2.82 


11.31 


112 


L21 


14.14 


89 


.97 


16.97 


74 


.81 


34 


6000 


2.91 


11.66 


109 


L12 


14.58 


87 


.90 


17.49 


73 


.75 


36 


6050 


3.00 


12.00 


107 


LOS 


15.00 


86 


.82 


18.00 


71 


.69 


38 


6100 


3.08 


12.83 


105 


.96 


15.41 


84 


.77 


18.49 


70 


.64 


40 


6100 


3.16 


12.65 


102 


.89 


15.81 


82 


.71 


18.97 


68 


.60 


50 


6450 


3.53 


14.14 


97 


.67 


17.68 


77 


.54 


21.21 


64 


.45 


60 


6750 


3.87 


15.49 


92 


.54 


19.37 


74 


.43 


23.24 


62 


.36 



Note.— The above table is for 1% inch roller. 
9 per cent more turns. 



1% inch should make 



Carding and Spinning. 



167 



Production and Twist Tables for Twisted Yarn. 













FIVE 


PLY. 












fl 




O (B 


Sq. 


Root X 4. 


Sq. 


Root X 5. I 


Sq. 


Root X 6. 


No. of Yar 

to be 
Twisted. 


w 


o-ts 




















Square R 
of TwlB 
Yarn. 




'1 


Q.'O 


-1^ 

OS 


O a) 




-i 


O oj 


a 




.f4 


II 


9.77 




li 




EH 


11 


Eft 


6 


2800 


1.09 


4.38 


136 


5.48 


108 


7.81 


6.57 


90 


6.52 


7 


3000 


1.18 


4.73 


135 


8.31 


5.92 


107 


6.64 


7.16 


89 


5.44 


8 


3150 


1.26 


5.06 


132 


7.13 


6.32 


106 


5.71 


7.59 


88 


4.75 


9 


3300 


1.34 


5.37 


130 


6.26 


6.71 


104 


5.01 


8.05 


87 


4.17 


10 


3400 


1.41 


5.66 


127 


5.51 


7.07 


102 


4.41 


8.49 


85 


3.67 


11 


3550 


1.48 


5.93 


126 


4.99 


7.42 


101 


3.99 


8.90 


84 


3.33 


12 


3650 


1.54 


6,20 


125 


4.50 


7.75 


100 


3.60 


9.30 


83 


3.00 


13 


3750 


1.61 


6.45 


123 


4.10 


8.06 


98 


3.29 


9.67 


82 


2.73 


14 


3800 


1.67 


6.69 


120 


3.72 


8.37 


96 


2.98 


10.04 


80 


2.48 


15 


3900 


1.73 


6.93 


119 


3.44 


8.66 


95 


2.75 


10.39 


79 


2.29 


16 


3950 


1.78 


7.16 


117 


3.16 


8.95 


94 


2.53 


10.73 


78 


2.11 


17 


4000 


1.84 


7.38 


115 


2.93 


9.22 


92 


2.34 


11.06 


77 


1.95 


18 


4050 


1.89 


7.59 


113 


2.72 


9.49 


90 


2.18 


11.38 


75 


1.81 


19 


4100 


1.94 


7.80 


112 


2.54 


9.75 


89 


2.03 


11.70 


74 


L70 


20 


4150 


2.00 


8.00 


110 


2.38 


10.00 


88 


L90 


12.00 


73 


L59 


22 


4200 


2.09 


8.39 


106 


2.09 


10.49 


85 


L67 


12.59 


71 


1.39 


24 


4300 


2.19 


8.76 


104 


1.88 


10.95 


83 


L50 


13.15 


69 


1.25 


26 


4350 


2.28 


9.12 


101 


1.68 


11.40 


81 


1.34 


13.68 


67 


1.12 


28 


4400 


2.36 


9.47 


99 


1.52 


11.83 


79 


1.22 


14.20 


66 


LOl 


30 


4500 


2.44 


9.80 


97 


1.41 


12.25 


78 


L13 


14.70 


65 


.04 


32 


4550 


2.52 


10.12 


95 


1.29 


12.65 


76 


1.03 


15.18 


64 


.86 


34 


4600 


2.60 


10.43 


94 


1.19 


13.04 


75 


.95 


15.65 


62 


.79 


86 


4600 


2.68 


10.73 


91 


1.09 


13.42 


73 


.87 


16.10 


61 


.73 


38 


4600 


2.75 


11.03 


89 


1.01 


13.78 


71 


.81 


16.54 


59 


.67 


40 


4600 


2.82 


11.31 


86 


.93 


14.14 


69 


.74 


16.95 


57 


.62 


50 


4900 


3.16 


12.65 


82 


.72 


15.81 


66 


.58 


18.97 


55 


.48 


60 


5200 


3.46 


13.86 


80 


.58 


17.32 


64 


.46 


20.78 


53 


.39 



Note— The above table is for 13^ inch rollers, 
per cent more turns. 



1% inch should make 9 



168 



Carding and Spinning. 



Table of Twist Constants. Whitin Twister. 



Diam. of 


Diam. of 


Rela- 


Cylinder 


Stud 


Constant. 


Constant 


Cylinder. 


Whirl. 


tion. 


Gear. 


Gear. 


1%" Roll 


13^" Roll. 


7 


1 


7.35 


22 


88 


724.8 


688.8 


7 


7 


7.25 


36 


74 


372.4 


354 


7 


1 


7.25 


55 


55 


181.2 


172.2 


7 


h\ 


4 80 


22 


88 


480 


456. 


7 


1^ 


4.80 


36 


74 


246.6 


234.4 


7 


lA 


4.80 


55 


55 


120 


114 


8 


1 


8 28 


22 


88 


827.6 


786.8 


8 


7 
"g" 


8.28 


36 


74 


425.4 


404.2 


8 


7 


8.28 


55 


55 


206.8 


196.6 


8 


1^ 


5.48 


22 


88 


548 


520.8 


8 


h\ 


5.48 


36 


74 


281.6 


267.6 


8 


1^ 


5.48 


55 


55 


137 


130.2 



Constant -f- by twist = Twist Gear. 

Table of Twist Constants. Draper Twister. 



Diam. of 


Diam. of 


Diam. of 


Gear on 


Stud 


Jack 


Constant. 


Cylinder. 


Whirl. 


Roll. 


Roller. 


Gear. 


Gear. 


8 


H 


li- 


90 


36 


120 


197 


8 


n 


lt 


90 


32 


120 


245 


8 


If 


li 


90 


36 


120 


275.8 


8 


n 


n 


90 


38 


120 


356.4 


8 


n 


U 


90 


32 


120 


465.6 


8 


1 


U 


90 


28 


120 


591.2 


8 


7 
8 


IJ 


90 


26 


120 


716.2 



Note. —The change gear is the one on Cylinder. 
Constant -^- twist = Twist Gear. 



Carding and Spinning. 169 

lowell and fales and jenks twisters. 

As there are over a hundred combinations used 
on these frames, we will give only the formula for 
getting the twist, twist constant, etc. 

— Cylinder gear. 

J — Jack gear. 

T — Twist gear. 

F — Front-roller gear. 

K — Relation of cylinder to whirl. 

4.7124 — Circumference of IJ'' roller. 

J X F X R 

= Twist per inch. 

C X T X 4.7134 

JX Fx R 

= Twist Constant. 



C X 4.7124 

Twist Constant 

= Twist per inch. 

Twist Gear 

Twist Constant 
= Gear. 



Twist per inch 

In the foregoing tables no allowance is made 
for contraction in twist, principally because it is 
such a variable factor. In spinning it is a varia- 
ble quantity, varying with the numbers and also 
with the amount of twist. In twisting it be- 
comes more variable. As the twist is put in in 
the reverse direction in which the single yarn is 
twisted, part of the twist is taken out and there- 
fore the thread elongates. If the twisting were 
stopped at this point, the result would be more 



170 Carding and Spinning. 

yards, and therefore finer yarn than before. This 
is actually the case in coarse yarns, and in order 
to get the twisted yarn the correct number, it is 
necessary to make the single yarn coarser than 
the number wanted. This elongation, amount- 
ing to about 5 per cent with number 4's, gradu- 
ally diminishes until number 30's is reached, 
when neither elongation nor contraction takes 
place. From number 30's contraction begins, 
and steadily increases until at number lOO's it 
amounts to 4 per cent. It may thus be readily 
seen that there may be a considerable difference 
in the production of two mills making twisted 
yarns. If one is making 20 2-ply, the single yarn 
may be 19.5, which will make a good deal of 
difference. On the other hand, another mill mak- 
ing 40 2-ply will have to make, say, 40.5 — a con- 
siderable difference in the opposite direction. 

For many purposes it is not desired to have 
the yarns of a soft, oozy nature. Yarn twisted 
on ring frames is much more open than if twisted 
on mule or throstle frames, on account of the 
centrifugal force tending to throw the loose ends 
of the fibers out, and also to some extent by the 
yarn chafing against the traveller. When an 
extra-smooth yarn is desired it is passed through 
a gassing frame, where the projecting fibers are 
singed off. For most purposes however a wet 
twist is sufficient. In England, this is usually 
accomplished by having the roller immersed in 



Carding and Spinning. 171 

water, but in the United States the yarn is wet 
by passing it under a glass rod immersed in wa- 
ter. This is a better arrangement, as the rod can 
be more readily removed, and the water cleaned 
from the accumulation of lint which will collect, 
and if not removed be taken up and twisted in 
the yarn. The English wet twisters frequently 
have steam pipes in the water to keep it hot. 
This would seem to be a good idea, as the writer 
has seen yarn intended for samples greatly im- 
proved in appearance by immersing in boiling 
water. 

It is more difficult to run wet twist than dry, 
and usually the frames must be run at a slower 
speed or have larger bobbins. On this account, 
wet twist usually brings a little better price than 
dry, although no difference is made in the mar- 
ket quotations. 

TROUBLES IN RUNNING TWISTERS. 

Lean Yarn. — When the writer first began to 
make two-ply yarn for the market, there was 
complaint that the yarn, which was 26-2, was 
"lean." The commission merchant did not seem 
to have a very clear idea what the term meant, 
probably simply quoting the comment of the con- 
sumer. After a good deal of correspondence it 
developed that "lean" meant that the yarn did 
not look right on account of the twist being out 
of proportion. The commission men never were 



172 Carding and Spinning. 

able to tell exactly what the trouble was, but the 
writer has since learned that the term indicates 
what it would if applied to a person, that is that 
its diameter is too small. There are two ways in 
which lean yarn is made. The most frequent 
cause is having too much twist in the single yarn. 
It is a fact that nine-tenths of the mills in the 
South make their yarn for twisting with the reg- 
ular warp twist. This makes the yarn stronger 
and more easily handled, but also greatly affects 
its appearance after being twisted. It is not al- 
ways practicable to spin the yarn, or rather to 
spool and twist it, with 2.75 times the square 
root of the number, but the nearer this standard 
is approached the better the yarn will be. Con- 
trary to general belief, twist in the single yarn 
has very little or nothing to do with the strength 
of the double yarn. This is very easily demon- 
strated by the fact that spindle bands made from 
roving are as strong as if made from yarn. 

The other cause for lean yarn is too great 
tension in twisting. This is caused either by 
fast speed, and the necessity for using a heavy 
traveller to keep the ends from thrashing to- 
gether, or it is caused by using a heavy traveller 
in order to get more yarn on the bobbin. Verti- 
cal rings are not well suited for dry twisting, as 
more tension is put on the yarn. Besides this, 
the traveller bill will be fully twice as great. For 
good, lofty yarn the twisting should be with as 



Carding and Spinning. 173 

little tension as possible. As mentioned in the 
chapter on ring spinning, ballooning is good for 
the yarn, provided the ends do not lash together, 
as it helps to pull the traveller, and for good yarn 
extra space on a twister is desirable. The writer 
is familiar with two cases where this was amply 
demonstrated. One case was where there were 
three twisters equipped with 3" rings for number 
10 yarn, but were used for twisting number 24. 
The 3-inch rings were afterwards replaced with 
2-inch, a light traveller put on, and a much nicer 
yarn was made. On account of the light travel- 
ler, an end seldom broke, and the twister hands 
preferred running these frames at 10 cents a side 
to running the regular 3'' space 2" ring at 12 j 
cents. Another case was where looms were put 
in, and consequently all the twister spindles were 
not needed. Only every other one was used, a 
lighter traveller put on, and the yarn brought a 
better price than it did before. 

Single or Double, — These terms are not to be 
taken literally, but simply mean less and more 
than the required number of strands. It is hardly 
necessary to mention the defect, as the remedy is 
so obvious, viz., closer scrutiny at the twister. 
Single yarn will not occur in two-ply work, as 
the reverse twist will cause the end to come down. 
In coming down, it often engages in the thread 
next to it, making three-ply, or technically dou- 
ble. In every case the twister hand is not respon- 



174 Carding and Spinning. 

sible for this, as the writer has seen a thread 
twist in with another and then break away, leav- 
ing nothing to show the attendant that imperfect 
yarn had been made. The Draper Company has 
a very simple and effective device for preventing 
the further delivery of yarn when one end breaks. 
This applies only in 2-ply work, and does not 
work well on wet twisters. Single yarn is the 
night-mare of mills where three-, fonr- and five- 
ply is made. If 5-ply is being made, it is almost 
impossible to detect by a glance that one thread 
is missing, and only the most trusted employees 
should be put on such work. The writer has 
patented a very simple electric device for pre- 
venting single on such work. It consists prima- 
rily of drop wires, an electric bell and an annun- 
ciator. When a thread breaks, the bell rings and 
keeps ringing until the end is pieced up, the 
annunciator showing where the broken end is. 

Fuzzy Yarn. — This occurs especially in two-ply 
work where an end breaks down. The yarn on 
the bobbin continues to revolve rapidly, and the 
fibers being thrown out by the centrifugal force, 
are taken up by the threads on each side and 
twisted in with them. This will not take place 
except in high-speed work, and there is no way 
to prevent it. All that can be done is to have the 
twister-hand examine the bobbins on each side of 
the broken end and pull off the defective yarn. 
Separators will prevent the trouble only to a very 



Carding and Spinning. 175 

limited extent, but they will prevent a great deal 
of trouble caused by the yarn lashing together 
and breaking down. They are not often used on 
twisters, but the writer has never seen a good 
reason why. On the fine yarn they are certainly 
as desirable as on spinning frames, and will 
enable more work to be done per spindle. 

Corkscrew Yarn. — This is a very common com- 
plaint with twisted yarn. Where two threads of 
unequal diameter are twisted together, the 
smaller one will twist around the other instead 
of both twisting together. This is caused in the 
spinning-room by one of the many things which 
go to make up uneven yarn. The chief cause 
which will show up on the twister is single or 
double roving, which if the double roving is used 
on the spinning frame, will make a thread 50 
per cent larger than the average. Fluted back 
top rollers will deliver more roving and make a 
coarser thread, or fluted front top rollers will 
cause more draft and make a finer thread. Cork- 
screw may also be caused by the twist being put 
in the wrong direction, either in the single or in 
the double. If in the latter, a very kinky yarn 
will be made which any novice will detect. A 
very short length of corkscrew is often caused by 
clearer waste or flyings being twisted in the yam, 
making an inch or two of very coarse yarn. 

Long or Dirty Knots. — This is sometimes a great 
source of complaint. The twister-hands will get 



176 Carding and Spinning. 

their fingers soiled while cleaning the frame, and 
if an end breaks piece it up with the inevitable 
result. On all fine work the operatives should 
be provided with scissors and carefully cut off 
all long ends. They should also be required to 
keep their hands clean. 

Slack Twisted Yarn. — it sometimes happens 
that different frames have different combinations 
of gears, and occasionally one will be putting in 
25 per cent more or less twist than it should. 
Slack bands of course are the source of most of 
the trouble. They should receive more atten- 
tion than bands on the spinning frame, for the 
results are more serious. In some mills the twis- 
ter-hands put on the bands. This is a bad meth- 
od, as they have neither time nor the judgment 
necessary. There should be a reliable man whose 
duty is to look after the twisters and reels, and 
who should examine every band at least twice a 
week, and oftener if there are changes in the 
weather. The reelers, who can tell a slack 
twisted bobbin by its spongy nature, should be 
trained to put them to one side. In some mills 
these are twisted again, and in others they are 
all reeled together and the yarn put aside until 
a bale has accumulated. For some purposes soft 
twist is desirable, and an occasional bale can be 
sold at the regular price. Warp yarn should be 
more evenly twisted than skein yarn. Much of 
it goes into worsted cloth, which is woven with 



Carding and Spinning. 177 

a twill effect. A slack-twisted thread will show 
very plainly in some weaves, making what is 
known as "railroads" in the cloth. Every mill 
making twisted yarn for the market should have 
a machine for counting twist. 

GENERAL INFORMATION. 

Twisters occupy about the same space as spin- 
ning frames. Their width is usually 36 inches, 
but may be 39. The length may be obtained by 
multiplying the space by half the number of 
spindles, and adding two feet. The weight is a 
little more than for spinning frames. The cost 
is about the same as for spinning frames of equal 
size rings, but as twister rings are always larger 
for any particular number of yarn, the cost is 
from 25 cents to 50 cents more per spindle. On 
two-ply work, it usually requires one twister spin- 
dle to take care of two producing spindles. On 
three- and four-ply work, no such general propor- 
tion will hold good, but the required number 
must be calculated from the production tables. 

The power required for twisters is in excess of 
that for spindle frames. It varies greatly with' 
the size of rings and the character of work. On 
two-ply work number 24 yarn, about 45 spindles 
will absorb a horse power. The pulleys should 
not be less than 3-inch face and 12 inches diame- 
ter, and even a larger diameter is often desirable. 

The wind on a twister may be either warp or 

13 



178 Carding and Spinning. 

filling, or a combination. The writer prefers a 
filling or cone wind, except perhaps for the larg- 
est rings. The yarn is more readily reeled, and 
the bobbins having no head, last much longer. 

In spinning mills, of which there are a large 
number in the South, especially in North Caro- 
lina, a large part of the product is reeled, often 
all of it. Single yarn is usually reeled in skeins 
of one or two bobbins regardless of any particular 
weight. There is not nearly so much single 
yarn reeled as there was a few years ago. Much 
of it being coned, and much of the filling yarn is 
being run in filling warps to be dyed and after- 
wards quilled. Ply yarn is generally reeled in 
skeins of a certain weight, 24-2 being put up in 
2| or- 3-ounce skeins, 8-3 in 12-ounce, etc. Some- 
times it is necessary to have the weight exact, as 
the skeins are dyed and sold to the retail trade. 
When this is the case, a motion must be put on 
the reel to stop it when a certain length has been 
wound. Ordinarily, the bobbins can be shaped 
so that they will hold about the right weight, or 
some multiple of it. A quarter of an ounce more 
or less is not usually objected to. 

Keels are sometimes made so as to twist 2-, 3- 
or 4-ply as the yarn is being reeled. This is done 
by having a 2-, 3- or 4-pronged spindle to hold the 
bobbins, and as the reel turns, this spindle re- 



Carding and Spinning. 179 

volves. The objection to this method is that it 
is very hard to tell when one of the threads break, 
and single is made. We know of a good many- 
such reels being discarded as unsatisfactory, but 
also know of two mills, one of them a large one, 
which have used them for many years. Keels 
are made for running 54'', 60'', 72" and 90" skeins, 
Fine yarns are generally reeled 54", medium 72", 
and very coarse ply yarns 72" and 90". 

The production of a reel does not depend so 
much on the size of the skein as one would natu- 
rally suppose, as the speed is governed largely 
by what the machine will stand and the speed at 
which bobbins can be unwound. If live spindles, 
or the ones which revolve with the bobbins, are 
used, an excessive vibration and tension is caused 
by high speed. If a dead spindle is used, and 
the yarn pulled over the top, high speed eauses 
the ends to whip together and break down. The 
writer has used separators on reels very success- 
fully, but has never seen them sent out from the 
shop. He has also found it advantageous to 
space the spindles further apart than they are 
generally made. For medium yarns they are 
generally spaced 2f ", but a greater production 
can be had with a 3" space. 



180 



Carding and Spinning. 



Reel Production Table, 10 Hours. 







54 Inch Reel. 






60 Inch Reel. 


No. of 


















Yarn. 




















120 


130 


140 


150 


120 


130 


140 


150 




Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


4 


12.8 


13.8 


14.8 


16.0 


14.0 


15.2 


16.3 


17.5 


5 


10.2 


11.0 


12.0 


12.7 


11.4 


12.2 


13.3 


13.7 


6 


8.5 


9.2 


10.0 


10.6 


9.4 


10.2 


11.0 


11.3 


7 


7.3 


7.9 


8.4 


9.1 


8.0 


8.8 


9.3 


10.0 


8 


6.4 


6.9 


7.4 


7.7 


7.0 


7.6 


8.1 


8.8 


9 


5.4 


5.8 


6.6 


6.7 


6.2 


6.8 


7.2 


7.7 


10 


5.1 


5.5 


6.0 


6.4 


5.7 


6.1 


6.6 


7.1 


11 


4.6 


5.0 


5.4 


5.7 


5.1 


5.6 


5.9 


6.4 


12 


4.2 


4.6 


5.0 


5.2 


4.7 


5.1 


5.5 


5.9 


13 


3.9 


4.2 


4.6 


4.8 


4.3 


4.7 


5.0 


5.4 


14 


3.6 


3.9 


4.3 


4.5 


4.0 


4.4 


4.7 


5.0 


15 


3.4 


3.7 


4.0 


4.2 


3.8 


4.1 


4.4 


4.7 


16 


3.2 


3.4 


3.7 


4.0 


3.5 


3.8 


4.1 


4.4 


17 


3.0 


3.1 


3.5 


3.7 


3.3 


3.6 


3.8 


4.1 


18 


2.8 


3.0 


3.3 


3.5 


31 


3.4 


36 


3.9 


19 


2.7 


2.9 


3.1 


3.4 


3.0 


32 


3.5 


3.8 


20 


2.5 


2.7 


3.0 


3.1 


2.8 


3.0 


3.3 


3.5 


21 


2.4 


2.6 


2.8 


3.0 


2.7 


2.9 


3.1 


3.4 


22 


2.3 


2.5 


27 


2.8 


2.5 


2.8 


2.9 


3.1 


23 


2.2 


2.4 


2.6 


2.7 


2.4 


2.6 


2.8 


3.0 


24 


2.1 


2.3 


2.4 


2.6 


2.3 


2.5 


2.7 


2.9 


25 


2.0 


2.2 


2.4 


2.5 


2.2 


2.4 


2.6 


2.7 


26 


1.9 


2.1 


23 


2.4 


2.1 


2.3 


2.4 


2.6 


27 


1.9 


2.0 


2.2 


2.3 


2.1 


2.2 


2.4 


2.6 


28 


1.8 


1.9 


2.1 


2.2 


2.0 


2.1 


2.3 


2.5 


29 


1.7 


1.8 


2.0 


2.1 


1.9 


2.0 


2.2 


2.4 


30 


1.6 


1.7 


19 


2 


1.8 


2.0 


2.1 


2.2 


40 


1.2 


1.3 


1.5 


1.7 


1.4 


1.5 


16 


1.8 


50 


10 


1.1 


1.2 


1.4 


1.1 


12 


1.3 


1.4 


60 


.8 


.9 


1.0 


1.2 


1.0 


1.1 


1.2 


1.3 



Sixty per cent of the time is allowed for stops. 



Carding and Spinning. 



181 



Reel Production Table, 10 Hours. 







72 Inch Reel. 






90 Inch Reel. 


No. of 


















Yarn. 




















110 


120 


130 


140 


100 


110 


120 


130 




Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


Rev. 


4 


15.6 


16.8 


18.4 


21.0 


17.6 


19.2 


21.2 


22.4 


5 


12.5 


13.6 


14.8 


16.0 


14.2 


15.6 


17.0 


18.1 


6 


10.4 


11.2 


12.2 


13.2 


11.8 


13.0 


14.2 


15.4 


7 


8.8 


9.6 


10.4 


11.2 


10.0 


11.2 


12.2 


13.2 


8 


7.8 


8.4 


9.2 


10.0 


8.8 


9.6 


10.6 


11.6 


9 


7.2 


7.6 


8.2 


8.8 


7.8 


8.6 


9.4 


10.1 


10 


6.2 


6.8 


7.4 


8.6 


7.1 


7.8 


8.5 


9.2 


11 


5.6 


6.2 


6.7 


7.2 


6.4 


7.1 


7.7 


8.4 


13 


5.2 


5.6 


6.1 


6.6 


5.9 


6.5 


7.1 


7.7 


13 


4.8 


5.2 


5.6 


6.1 


5.4 


6.0 


6.5 


7.1 


14 


4.4 


4.8 


5.2 


5.6 


5.0 


5.6 


6.1 


6.6 


15 


4.1 


4.5 


4.9 


5.3 


4.7 


5.2 


5.6 


6.1 


16 


3.9 


4.2 


4.6 


5.0 


4.4 


4.8 


5.3 


5.8 


17 


3.6 


4.0 


4.3 


4.6 


4.2 


4.6 


5.0 


5.4 


18 


3.4 


3.8 


4.1 


4.4 


3.9 


4.3 


4.7 


5.1 


19 


3.2 


3.6 


3.8 


4.2 


3.7 


4.1 


4.4 


4.8 


20 


3.1 


3.4 


3.6 


4.0 


3.5 


3.9 


4.2 


4.6 


21 


2.9 


3.2 


3.5 


3.8 


3.4 


3.7 


4.0 


4.4 


22 


2.8 


3.1 


3.3 


3.6 


3.2 


3.5 


3.8 


4.2 


23 


2.7 


2.9 


3.2 


3.4 


3.0 


3.4 


3.7 


4.0 


24 


2.6 


2.8 


3.0 


3.3 


2.9 


3.2 


3.5 


8.8 


25 


2.4 


2.7 


2.9 


3.2 


2.8 


3.1 


3.4 


3.6 


26 


2.4 


2.6 


2.8 


3.0 


2.7 


3.0 


3 2 


3.5 


27 


2.3 


2.5 


2.7 


2.9 


2.6 


2.8 


3.1 


3.4 


28 


2.2 


2.4 


2.6 


2.8 


2.5 


2.7 


3.0 


3.3 


29 


2.1 


2.3 


2.5 


2.7 


2.4 


2.6 


2.9 


8.2 


80 


2.0 


2.2 


2.4 


2.6 


2.3 


2.5 


2.8 


3.0 


40 


1.5 


1.6 


1.8 


2.0 


1.7 


1.9 


2.1 


2.3 


50 


1.2 


1.3 


1.4 


1.6 


1.4 


15 


1.6 


1.8 


60 


1.0 


1.1 


1.2 


1.3 


1.1 


1.2 


1.4 


1.5 



Sixty per cent of the time is allowed for stops. 



182 Carding and Spinning. 

troubles in reeling. 

Loose Ends. — All reeled yarn should be rigor- 
ously inspected. It is much more important than 
at any other point in the process of manufacture, 
because all the work has been put on the goods, 
making them, on the whole, of a good or even 
superior quality, and a few bad skeins may spoil 
a large shipment, ^he writer once had charge of 
a mill where they had a great deal of complaint 
and several claims on what was called "cut 
yarn." Investigation showed that the skeins 
were made from the yarn of two bobbins, and 
where the reelers could not readily find the end 
of the first bobbin to which to tie the second, they 
would simply twist the ends on the yarn and go 
ahead. In winding, it came in two at this point, 
and the consumer reported it "cut." 

Tangled Skeins.— This may be caused by tying 
the under end of one skein to the upper end of 
the next, and when the reeler starts this way, the 
whole doff will be tied together. Another way 
of tangling skeins is to allow the traverse mo- 
tion to get out of ^x. A very small skein, or very 
coarse ply yarn, may sometimes pass inspection 
without being cross reeled, but on the whole it is 
apt to cause trouble. It would seem unnecessary 
to call attention to such a self-evident fact, but 
we once knew of over 100 bales of yarn being con- 
demned on account of one reel out of five being 
out of ^x. At the time the yarn was sold for 25 



Carding and Spinning. 183 

cents a pound, but this lot was finally disposed of 
at 18 cents. 

Black Oil. — This may get on the yarn before it 
is reeled, but with the most careful reelers the 
skeins occasionally get black. If the yarn is very, 
valuable, it will often pay to lay aside these 
skeins until enough accumulate, and wash out 
the black spots. This can usually be done with 
soap and warm water, but if not, oxalic acid will 
greatly assist. On no account should this black- 
ened yarn be allowed to go in with the regular 
quality. 

Slack twist, double, single, corkscrew and 
other imperfect yarn should all be removed by 
the inspector. 

Packing. — Some mills simply loop a skein 
through a dozen or more and bale them in mass. 
Such a careless method can not fail to affect the 
value of the goods, for neatly packed goods al- 
ways bring the best class of customers. On the 
inspector's table a rack should be made of stand- 
ards about 18'' long. From three to six skeins 
are then twisted together and laid in this rack. 
When it is full, the whole is tied together in two 
or three places, making a neat bundle which 
looks well and facilitates handling. The yarn 
for tying is slack or imperfect yarn, which is 
good for nothing else. In a month several hun- 
dred pounds of this can be used up and sold at 
the regular price. 



184 Carding and Spinning. 

general information. 

A reel should not be more than 15 feet long. 
If the spindles are spaced 3 inches apart, there 
will then be 50 spindles. A 54-inch reel is about 

2 ft. 4 in. wide, a 60-inch 2 ft. 10 in., and a 90-inch 

3 ft. 8 in. They cost according to space and the 
number of spindles. With 50 spindles and 3-inch 
space, one will cost about |90.00. 

A prominent English builder makes reels with 
four swifts, two on each side, holding 10 skeins 
each, and running independent of each other. 
This makes a gain of at least 25 per cent in pro- 
duction, as the operative is tying off or dof&ng 
one skiff while the others are running. Eeels 
are also built in England having a stop motion 
for each thread. Under certain conditions the 
English law requires that each skein be of equal 
length. 



Carding and Spinning. 185 

CHAPTER VIII. 



Warpers. 



Warpers may be divided into three classes: 
ball warpers, beam warpers, and chain warpers. 
Ball and beam warpers are nearly alike in con- 
struction, but chain warpers are not. One style, 
now almost out of use, winds the yarn in the form 
of a loose rope around a frame of large diameter. 
This is known as a circular warping mill or reel 
warper. Another style is known as a Denn 
warper, and another retains some of the features 
of the Denn warper, but without the electric stop 
motion. 

As the beam warper, often known as the 
slasher, or section warper, is the most frequently 
used, we will consider it first. 

In order to have good work at the loom, it is 
absolutely necessary to have beams with continu- 
ous ends. Where there are from 400 to 500 spools, 
some of the threads are sure to break, and if not 
detected quickly and tied up, they will be lacking 
on the loom beam. There are two methods used 
to detect a broken end. One a mechanical one 
by means of drop wires, and the other also by 
means of drop wires, but with the stop motion 
operated by electricity. Under favorable condi- 
tions both will work well, but as the electric de- 



186 Carding and Spinning. 

vice gives a better chance for the machine to be 
stopped before the broken thread reaches the 
beam, it is preferred by a great many. On the 
other hand, electricity is but little understood by 
mill people in general, and it is claimed that it 
complicates matters, and makes the machine 
more difficult to fix. 

CALCULATIONS. 

About the only calculation about a warper is 
to ascertain the weight of yarn on the beam. Of 
course this is readily done by deducting the 
weight of the empty beam from that of the full 
one. It is desirable, however, for a superinten- 
dent to know what the beam ought to weigh as 
well as what it does weigh. He will not only 
know how closely the required numbers are being 
spun, but will also be enabled to better regulate 
the weight of cloth by making slight changes in 
the filling. A record should always be kept of 
the net weight of every beam, and by a very sim- 
ple calculation the average number of yarn on 
every set for the slasher can be known and re- 
corded. 

All warpers have a measuring device, driven 
by a measuring roller, which turns one time for 
every one-quarter yard which passes over it. By 
means of worms and gears this motion is reduced 
so that from 2,000 to 3,000 yards, generally 3,000, 
have been run when the machine stops. This 



Carding and Spinning. 187 

amount of yarn is called a wrap. The beam may 
hold 6, 8 or 10 wraps, according to the number of 
yarn and the size of beam. If we know the num- 
ber of yards in a wrap, and the number of ends, 
we can calculate the weight of yarn. 

Rule. — Multiply the number of yards in a wrap 
by the number of wraps and the number of endSy 
and divide by 8J^0 multiplied by the number of 
yarn. 

Example. — Number of ends 480; number of 
yarn 20; number of yards on wrap 3,000; num- 
ber of wraps 5; what is the weight of yarn on 
beam? 

3000 X 5 X 480 



840 X 20 



= 428.5 



It takes about 60 cubic inches to hold a pound 
of yarn. To find the cubic inches, we first find 
the number of square inches in a cross section, or 
a circle of the required diameter. This is done 
by multiplying the square of the radius (half of 
the diameter) by 3.1416. After getting the area 
of the circle, we must subtract the area of the cir- 
cle represented by the barrel, and then multiply 
by the length between the heads. 

Example. — Diameter of head 26" ; diameter of 
barrel 9'' ; length between heads 54 J'' ; what is 
the number of cubic inches, and what will a full 
beam weigh? 



188 Carding and Spinning. 

(13)2=: 169 

169 X 3.1416 = 530.93 

(4^)2 = 20.25 

20.25 X 3.1416 =63.61 

530.93 — 63.61 = 467.32 

467.32 X 54^ = 25352 = Number of square inches. 

25352 -^ 60 = 432 pounds. 

The beams have a barrel 9'' in diameter, and 
are 54^'' between heads. A full beam, of the 
following dimensions, will weigh as follows: 

26" head, for yarns up to 20's 430 pounds. 

24" head,- " " 30's 360 

22" head, '' " 40's 293 " 

21" head, " " 50's 260 

20"head, ♦' " lOO's 226 

These results are only approximately correct. 
The weight will vary with the size of the spool, 
number of yarn, number of ends and speed of 
machine. 

TROUBLES IN RUNNING WARPERS. 

Unequal Lengths. — It is probable that this is 
the chief trouble in the warping department. 
The writer has run across it in a number of mills. 
In every case it is not the fault of this depart- 
ment, but is sometimes due to unequal tension 
on the beams at the slasher. Where this is not 
the case, it is usually due to a very slight varia- 
tion in the diameter of the measuring rollers. 
The variation of only 1-100 of an inch will make 
a vast difference in the total length of the yarn, 
for the roller turns four times for each yard, and 



Carding and Spinning. 189 

on many beams there are 24,000 yards, multiply- 
ing the error 96,000 times. Assuming that the 
beam has 8 wraps, or 24,000 yards, this variation 
would amount to 91 yards, and even half this 
would occasion a big loss. Where this variation 
exists, it can usually be remedied by putting oq 
one or more coats of paint. If this is not the 
trouble, it may be due to friction or lack of oil in 
the measuring roller, or some of the connecting 
mechanism. It is also occasionally caused by 
end play of the rollers, or by the rollers not run- 
ning true. 

Excessive Breaking of Ends.— This is oftea 

caused by bad spooling. Some time ago, the 
writer had occasion to investigate very carefully 
the operation of eight machines. He found that 
the spools were not marked, so that bad work 
could not be traced to one who made it. After a 
system of marking was inaugurated, the number 
of breakages was reduced from an average of 
130 per beam to 89. A careful record was then 
kept, and it was found that of the total number 
of breaks, 20 per cent were caused by bad spool- 
ing, 11 per cent by rough spools, and 69 per cent 
from unknown causes. Of the latter, probably 
a large number were caused by ends being lapped 
at the spooler, and also by excessive speed. While 
the machine builder recommended a maximum 
speed of 218, and a minimum of 163, these ma- 
chines were running at 225. On one of them the 



190 Carding and Spinning. 

speed was reduced to 172, and a careful compari- 
son was made. The average number of breaks on 
the other machine was 89, and on this machine 68, 
a decrease of 23 per cent. While the speed was 
reduced nearly 24 per cent, the time required to 
run a beam was increased only 9 per cent. While 
the number of breaks is a fair indication of the 
quality of work done, the benefit to the weaving 
is certainly in an increased proportion, on ac- 
count of less elasticity being taken from the 
yarn. These same beams taken to the slasher 
showed 27 per cent less breaks than the average, 
a per cent slightly in excess of the gain on the 
warper. 

There was not sufficient time to fallow the 
test on the looms, but as they were Northrop 
looms, and therefore most of the weaver's time 
taken up repairing warps, a saving of 27 per 
cent would mean a much greater production. 
These experiments certainly show that fast speed 
is not only very injurious to the yarn, but also to 
a great extent defeats the end for which it was 
intended, viz., greater production. 

The Draper warper is driven by cones, so that 
the machine runs slower as the spools become 
empty. Sometimes in their zeal to finish the 
beam quickly, the operatives will keep the ma- 
chine on the high speed throughout the entire set. 
This emphasizes the fact that the belt-shifting 
device should be carefully watched. 



Carding and Spinning. 191 

Seivage Piled Up. — There is no occasion for this, 
except when the selvage threads are two-ply, 
when the operative will sometimes space them 
the same as for single yarn. If they are spaced 
one thread in two dents and watched carefully, 
the beam will be the same diameter all the way 
across, which is absolutely necessary for good 
work. 

Prodution. — As much time is lost while creel- 
ing, and also more or less while piecing up ends, 
only about two-thirds of the theoretical produc- 
tion should be counted. Most warpers have an 
18-inch cylinder, but some have a 12-inch. In 
the following table the production is based on 
two-thirds of the theoretical production, and is 
given for each 100 spools in the creel. 



192 



Carding and Spinning. 



Production Table, Beam Warper Per 100 Spools. 



Rev. 
of Cyl. 


30 


33 


36 


40 


No. of 
Yarn. 


12" 


18" 


12" 


18" 


12" 


18" 


12" 


18" 


8 


198 


297 


218 


327 


247 


380 


264 




10 


161 


241 


176 


264 


193 


289 


215 




12 


130 


195 


143 


214 


156 


234 


173 


..___- 


14 


115 


172 


126 


189 


138 


207 


153 




16 


101 


151 


110 


165 


121 


181 


135 




18 


96 


135 


98 


147 


108 


162 


120 




20 


80 


120 


88 


132 


96 


144 


106 




22 


73 


109 


80 


120 


88 


132 


97 




24 


66 


99 


72 


108 


79 


118 


89 




26 


62 


93 


68 


102 


74 


111 


83 




28 


57 


85 


62 


93 


68 


102 


76 




30 


53 


79 


59 


88 


63 


94 


71 




32 


50 


75 


55 


82 


60 


90 


66 




34 


47 


70 


52 


78 


56 


84 


62 




36 


44 


66 


48 


72 


53 


79 


58 




38 


40 


60 


44 


66 


48 


72 


53 




40 


39 


58 


43 


65 


47 


70 


52 




42 


38 


57 


42 


63 


46 


69 


51 




44 


36 


54 


39 


58 


43 


64 


48 




46 


35 


52 


38 


57 


42 


63 


47 




48 


34 


51 


37 


55 


41 


61 


45 




50 


32 


48 


35 


52 


38 


57 


42 





Note — 33 per cent of the time is allowed for stops. 



Carding and Spinning. 193 

general information. 

A warper with a creel for 500 spool occupies 
a space of about 9 X 16 feet, and costs |250.00. 
If there are only one or two machines, 15 or 20 
beams will be required. These are extra, and 
cost 110.00 each. The machine with one empty 
beam weighs about 6 pounds per spool, or 3,000 
pounds for a 500-spool machine. The horse- 
power required is about one-quarter. The oper- 
ative, if others do the creeling, can attend to from 
two to six machines. If the spooler-hands do 
the creeling, which is often the case in small 
mills, one warper is usually required for each 
spooler of a hundred spindles. 

THE DENN WARPER. 

Where the warp yarn is not used in the same 
mill where it is spun, or where it is to be bleached 
or dyed, the yarn is not warped on a beam 
warper, but on a chain warper, the most usual 
form of which is the Denn warper, so-called from 
the inventor. A distinctive feature it has from 
other machines is the electric stop motion and an 
improved linking device. Where a warp is re- 
quired with only a few ends, or for special pur- 
poses, a ball warper is used, which is practi- 
cally the same as a beam warper, except it has 
a leasing device and winds on wooden or paper 
cylinders instead of beams. A Denn warper may 

13 



194 Carding and Spinning. 

also have an attachment, or several of them, for 
balling warps. 

Calculations. — Warps are sold by the pound, 
but the weight is determined by calculation and 
not by weighing. It is therefore desirable that 
the actual weight and the theoretical weight cor- 
respond within reasonable limits. If the warp 
weighs more than it should, the mill loses that 
much cotton. On the other hand, if it is too 
light the purchaser is paying for more than he 
receives. About three per cent either way is not 
considered excessive, but the mill always tries to 
make it on the light side. Sometimes a mill finds 
its yarn too heavy or too light, and in order to 
make the warp weigh correctly, the attendant 
makes it a few yards longer or shorter than the 
required l^igth. This is an exceedingly bad 
practice. One warp may be dyed red, and a part 
of it be put in with a blue stripe from some other 
warp. If they are not of equal length, there is 
considerable waste at the beamer. The method 
of calculating the weight is the same as for the 
beam warper, the only difference being a larger 
number of ends. 

Example. — Number of ends 1,600; number of 
yards 4,000; number of yarn 30; what is the 
weight of the warp ? 

1600 X 4000 

= 253.9 pounds. 

840 X 30 



Carding and Spinning. 195 

If the yarn were two-ply, as it frequently is, 
the actual number would be 15 instead of 30, and 
the warps would be twice as heavy. 

Warps are usually ordered with so many cuts 
of a definite number of yards each. The appa- 
ratus for measuring the length is a simple train 
of gears very much like that on a beam warper. 
The measuring roll is 8 inches in diameter, or 
more exactly, 24 inches in circumference, and is 
driven at three times the speed of main shaft, 
so that 8 inches of yarn are delivered for each 
revolution of the driving shaft; or to express it 
in another way, the driving shaft must turn 4|: 
times for each yard in the cut. The problem 
then is to get a train of gears so that the pin 
wheel, or the disk on which is a pin for striking 
the bell, revolves one time for the required num- 
ber of yards. Let us take the gears as follows : 

Worm = 1 

Worm gear = 81. 

Small gear on worm, shaft 



Large gear on pin wheel = 85. 
Required number of yards in cut = 51. 

What change gear will be required? 

81 X85 

= Change gear. 

4i X 1 X 51 

This works out 30, which is the gear required. 
It frequently happens that it does not work out 
an even number of teeth, in which case one of the 
other gears must be changed, and the only way 



196 



Carding and Spinning. 



to do is to keep trying until we get the required 
combination.* 

PRODUCTION. 

The driving shaft generally runs from 150 to 
200 revolutions per minute, and as it takes 4J 
revolutions to make a yard, the theoretical pro- 
duction is readily calculated. It takes a long 
time to creel a warper and some time to take 
leases and piece up broken ends, so that 60 per 
cent of the theoretical production is about what 
can be expected. This should increase some- 
what with finer yarn. 

Production of Denn Warper Per 100 Spools. 



Number 
of 


Speed of Shaft. 














Yarn. 


150 


160 


170 


180 


190 


200 


8 


178 


190 


202 


213 


225 


287 


10 


142 


152 


161 


173 


181 


189 


12 


119 


127 


134 


143 


150 


158 


14 


102 


109 


115 


122 


129 


186 


16 


89 


95 


101 


107 


112 


118 


18 


79 


84 


89 


95 


100 


105 


20 


71 


76 


80 


85 


90 


95 


22 


65 


69 


73 


78 


82 


87 


24 


59 


63 


■ 67 


71 


74 


78 


26 


55 


58 


62 


66 


70 


73 


28 


51 


54 


57 


61 


64 


68 


30 


47 


50 


53 


56 


59 


62 


32 


44 


47 


50 


53 


55 


58 


34 


42 


44 


47 


50 


52 


55 


36 


39 


42 


44 


47 


49 


52 


38 


37 


40 


42 


44 


46 


49 


40 


35 


38 


40 


42 


44 


47 


42 


83 


36 


38 


40 


42 


44 


44 


32 


84 


36 


88 


40 


42 


46 


31 


33 


35 


37 


39 


41 


48 


29 


31 


83 


35 


37 


38 


50 


27 


80 


32 


34 


35 


36 



* The publishers of this work are prepared to furnish, at $1.00 per 
copy, a book containing every possible combination of gears f®r mak- 
ing changes in the length of the cut. There are over 1,000 changes given 
and the overseer can tell at a glance the proper gears for any length of 
cut desired. No one who uses a Denn warper can afford to be without it. 



Carding and Spinning. 197 

troubles in warping. 

Stop Motion Not Acting. — The electric appa- 
ratus is very simple and not likely to get out of 
fix. If only one section fails to act, it is evidence 
that a connection is broken and the wires should 
be carefully examined. If none of the sections 
act, try the bell to see if there is any current. If 
there is, one of the main connections is loose. 
If there is not, it is probable that oil is on the 
end of the commutator, or that the spring is not 
tight against it. 

Slack Ends. — Sometimes a complaint comes in 
that one side of the warp is slack, or it is some- 
times expressed that the warp has been rolled. 
This is caused by the trumpet not being in the 
center of the creel. It may also be caused by a 
thread wrapping around one of the rollers until 
the top roller is lifted off the warp and weakens 
the draft. When it does occur it is a very serious 
defect, and should be looked after carefully. 

Tight Water Bands.— Warps run on the Denn 
warper are usually dyed, and if the water bands 
are tied tight they prevent the dye from pene- 
trating freely and make a bad place in the warp. 
For the same reason, it is sometimes desired that 
cut mark bands be tied tight so as to mark the 
cut, but in the absence of any specifications to 
that effect they should also be tied slack, but so 
as not to slip their position. 



198 Carding and Spinning. 

Broken Ends. — Under ordinary conditions the 
machine will stop before the broken end has gone 
through the « eye-board. Often it does not, and 
the careful warper hand will use every effort to 
find the broken end and piece it up. At this 
point lies the principal difference between a good 
and bad hand. Loose ends very seriously inter- 
fere with beaming and weaving, and although 
no special complaint may be heard for a long 
time, when another order is made it will have 
considerable bearing on the matter. The ques- 
tion of a few cents a day should not be suficient 
inducement to change a man who is known to be 
careful and ef&cient. Several hundred dollars 
worth of damage may done before any complaint 
is heard from the consumer. There is probably 
no place in the mill where a carfeul hand is more 
necessary. 

GENERAL INFORMATION. 

The Denn warper is made with creels for from 
a thousand to four thousand ends. It is very 
doubtful if it pays to have them with more than 
two thousand, as one thread breaking will then 
stop so many spools. It is true the first cost is 
less, but ths is a small matter when compared 
with the cost of production. Machines are made 
with one, two and sometimes three heads. These 
of course must be run together, but may have 
different kinds of yarn and different lengths of 



Carding and Spinning. 199 

cuts. Tke machine may be arranged to ring a 
bell at every cut so that the band boy may tie a 
cut band, or the cut may be marked on the warp 
with a colored fluid. 

A Denn warper occupies a space of from 16 to 
24 feet wide, and from 36 to 40 feet long. When 
long machines are used, or indeed any of them, 
the warper-hand should be required to creel the 
spools first that are furthest from the machine, 
then run a few feet and creel more. By this 
method the waste may be reduced from 12 to 15 
yards to about 2. They will not do this unless 
they are required to, as it is a little more trouble. 

The machine costs from |800.00 to |1,800.00, 
according to the number of spools. 

The quality of the yarn may be improved by 
causing the warp to pass through a brush. The 
amount of trash knocked off will surprise any 
one who has never seen it tried. 

CONE WINDERS. 

Cone winders are much more generally used 
than they were a few years ago. For hosiery 
yarn and for many other purposes, the yarn was 
formerly used direct from the cops or from 
spools. In England cone winders are known as 
quick traverse winding frames, as opposed to 
spoolers or slow traverse winding frames. This 
name would seem to be a better one, as the ma- 



200 Carding and Spinning. 

chine not only winds cones but other shapes as 
well. 

Cops are much better to wind from than spin- 
ning bobbins, not only on account of the longer 
lengths of yarn, but also on account of there be- 
ing less waste. Where the filling wind is used, 
the doffers in threading-up frequently start the 
wind half way up the bobbin, and when the yarn 
reaches this point it is almost sure to break, aud 
what remains is cut off as waste. This is of 
course true in the loom also, but not to as great 
an extent, as the speed of unwinding is much 
slower. Warp wind bobbins will not work on a 
cone winder on account of the variable speed at 
the large and small end of the cone. If tubes 
are being wound, the warp bobbins are prefer- 
able. 

production. 

There are three makes of machines on the mar- 
ket, the Foster, the Broadbent and the Universal. 
The Foster is the one most frequently used, and 
on which we will base the production. The Uni- 
versal gives a production of from 50 to 75 per 
cent more than the others, but costs a great deal 
more. In general terms a drum may be said to 
produce about the same as a spooler spindle, or 
to take care of from 15 to 20 spinning spindles. 

The following table gives the production per 
drum for 10 hours, the fastest speed being the 
one most frequently used. 



Carding and Spinning. 



201 





Production oi 


^ Cone Winders. 10 Hours 




No. of 


28 


26 


24 


No. of 


28 


26 


24 


Yarn. 


Gear. 


Gear. 


Gear. 


Yarn. 


Gear. 


Gear. 


Gear. 


4 


19.04 


21.60 


23.32 


24 


4.04 


4.52 


5.08 


6 


15.49 


17.16 


18.86 


26 


3.86 


4.22 


4,74 


8 


11.94 


12.72 


14.30 


28 


3.50 


3.92 


4.40 


10 


9.50 


10.18 


11.40 


30 


3.24 


3.62 


4.07 


12 


7.56 


8.48 


9.54 


32 


3.05 


3.41 


3.88 


14 


6.51 


7.27 


8,18 


34 


2.86 


3.20 


3.60 


16 


5,69 


6.86 


7.15 


38 


2.71 


3.04 


3.41 


18 


5.27 


5.89 


6.63 


38 


2.57 


2.88 


3.23 


20 


4.86 


5.43 


7.11 


40 


2.43 


2.72 


3.05 


22 


4.41 


4.93 


5.55 


50 


1.90 


2.03 


2.25 



TROUBLES IN RUNNING CONE WINDERS. 



:s. — Perliaps no trouble connected with the 
nianufacture of hosiery yarn is so common as 
this. On many knitting machines a kink will 
break the needles and sometimes an entire set. 
Where mule-spun yarn is used, it should be 
steamed about half an hour before using. Where 
the yarn is spun on bobbins, it is not practicable 
to steam it, even though enamel bobbins are used. 
It is true it is frequently done, but at the ex- 
pense of a great many ruined bobbins. Simply 
sprinkling cold water on the yarn is not suffi- 
cient. It should be sprinkled and allow^ed to 
remain in a damp room at least twenty-four 
hours and longer if possible. A heavy damp 
cloth laid over the box will greatly help matters. 
This of course applies to fine yarn. Coarse yarn 
does not have so much twist and may usually be 
coned without dampening. As in spooling, the 



202 Carding and Spinning. 

operative must take up the slack after tying a 
knot, or kinks are almost sure to be formed. 

Twist. — The subject of kinks naturally brings 
up that of twist. Except for special purposes, 
coned yarn is desired as soft as can readily be 
handled. In order to have it soft, if spun on 
the spinning frame, it is necessary to reduce the 
speed very materially. It is impossible to keep 
up the ends if the spindles are running as fast 
as for warp yarn. The overseer must remember 
also that when the yarn is pulled off the end of 
the bobbin, from ^ to 1^ turns per inch are put in 
in addition to what is made in spinning. Occa- 
sionally overseers put in the reverse twist, claim- 
ing that pulling over the end will then take out 
twist instead of putting it in. This is a mistaken 
idea. It is true that the yarn is twisted the op- 
posite way, but it is also wound the opposite way, 
and the effect is the same. 

Yarn Slipping,— This is a trouble often remedied 
by wetting the shell. This is an exceedingly bad 
practice, as the water softens the starch in the 
paper and causes the yarn to stick to it. The 
trouble is generally caused either by the shell 
not fitting the arbor properly, the drum not be- 
ing oiled, or the cone not being parallel with the 
drum. (The nose of the cone should be slightly 
lower than the butt. ) It is also caused by slack 
bands and insufficient friction on the yoke. On 



Carding and Spinning. 203 

the Foster machine it is frequently caused by the 
leather on the friction roll being worn. 

Overshots or Flotes. — ^There are a great many 
causes for these, probably the most common be- 
ing that the operative fails to take up the slack 
after tying a knot. Other causes are the yoke 
having too much side play, the arbor too short, 
the guide loose or broken, the dogs working loose 
or failing to strike the cushion exactly together, 
the guide rods being loose, or the rubber cushion 
being worn or improperly set. 

On the Foster machine they are caused by the 
drum or drum shaft being loose, the dog hole in 
the guide being worn, the guide springs being 
broken, closed too much or choked with waste, 
or the grooves on drum being worn. On the old 
style guide with V-shaped openings, the nose be- 
ing too high will also cause them. 

Cones Not Stopping. — it is very essential that 
the cones stop when the cop or bobbin runs 
empty. Sometimes they fail to stop on account 
of the drop wires being too light, or the first bend 
being so far out that the wire rests on a balance. 
If the drop wire is open too much, it may stick to 
the flannel rail. The trouble may also be caused 
by the knock-off ratchet wheel being loose or 
improperly set, the lever not being set far enough 
in to allow the frog to reach the notch on lever, 
the frog slipping to one side, the friction roll be- 
ing set too close to the drums, the drop wires 



204 Carding and Spinning. 

bent sidewise, or the pin which holds the frog in 
position working out. 

Knots. — Bad knots are one of the worst defects 
in hosiery yarn. In many mills it is the custom 
for the man in charge to re- wind a cone each day 
from every machine, carefully looking for long 
knots and other defects. As most of the work 
is not exposed, there seems no other way of being 
sure it is well done. Some mills require the cone 
winders to tie weaver's knots, and some have 
tried the mechanical knotter, but with indifferent 
success. If a knot has long ends it is liable to 
break the knitting needles, or if it does not, will 
break the yarn. One great trouble is that many 
operatives do not break off the end of the yarn 
before tying the knot. The end being free, a 
large part of the twist is out and the yarn conse- 
quently weak. When the knot reaches the knit- 
ting machine, the yarn breaks and the blame is 
laid on the knot, when in fact it is due to the 
method of tying it. 

GENERAL INFORMATION. 

The Foster cone winder usually has 100 drums, 
but may have 80, 60 or 40. A 100-drum machine 
occupies a space of 30 by 4 feet, and costs f 1,000, 
or $10 per drum. The shorter machines cost 
somewhat more in proportion, an 80-drum ma- 
chine being $865.00, and a 60 |695.00. The Uni- 
versal machine is not sold outright, but is leased 



Carding and Spinning. 205 

for life at |70 per drum. In the matter of pro- 
duction, and in some other respects, it is superior 
to the other makes, but there is a question as to 
whether or not it is worth the difference in price. 

Cone winders are built to wind from one to 
six threads for twisters, and are also built to 
wind tubes with a taper at each end for hard- 
twisted or polished thread. 

The cost of coning yarn is somewhat higher 
than for spooling, not because an operative can 
spool more, but because the spooler requires less 
attention from the overseer or section hand. It 
is customary to allow 2 per cent for the value of 
the cones, but nothing for the wooden cases in 
which the cones are packed. The allowance of 
2 per cent will usually more than cover the cost 
of the cones, but taking the packing, extra 
freight, etc., into consideration, the yarn can not 
be marketed as cheaply as warps or skeins, and 
usually brings about 1 per cent more per pound. 
A few years ago the difference was much greater, 
but like many other paying investments, the busi- 
ness was quickly overcrowded, over thirty mills 
equipped for making hosiery yarn being erected 
in two years. 



206 Carding and Spinning. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF FINE YARN. 

Selecting Cotton. — in this class of work it is 
more necessary to exercise care tlian for ordi- 
nary numbers. If possible, the bales should be 
selected which have a very uniform length of 
staple. These should be mixed well so as to get a 
portion from many bales in each armful. This 
same precaution is mentioned in a previous chap- 
ter as being desirable for any grade of work, but 
for fine work it is absolutely necessary. When 
the cotton is started through the opener, it should 
be examined closely to see if it is curled as it 
leaves the feed roll. If it is, there will certainly 
be trouble in the subsequent processes. To pre- 
vent it from being curled and knotted the speed 
of the beater must be reduced to say, about 1,200 
revolutions per minute, at the same time keep- 
ing the fan up to the usual speed. The cages, 
screens and dust flues must be cleaned out thor- 
oughly so as to keep the draft open. The weight 
must be medium. If anything seems to be going 
wrong tbe machine must be stopped, and the 
trouble located. If this is not done, there will 
be trouble and worry in the succeeding processes. 

Pickers. — The intermediate picker should not 
be used. Long -staple cotton will not stand the 



Carding and Spinning. 207 

same amount of beating as ordinary cotton. In 
order to make this clear we will examine into the 
process a little more closely. Suppose we are 
running l|-inch cotton, and that the beater is 
making 1,500 revolutions per minute, there being 
two blades, the cotton would be struck 3,000 
times. In the meantime the feed roller, which is 
2 inches in diameter, has turned 21 times, and has 
delivered 132 inches to the beaters. Thus, each 
inch has been struck 3,000 -^ 132 = 22.7 times. 
If the staple were 1 inch, each fibre would be 
struck on an average of 22.7 times, but as it is 
IJ inch, it will be struck 25.5 times. A similar 
calculation will show that for IJ-inch cotton each 
fibre will be struck 39.7 times. This is more than 
long-staple cotton will stand. A great many of 
the fibres will be broken, and many more will be 
curled. For this reason, we not only omit the 
intermediate picker, but also reduce the speed of 
the finisher to 1,200 revolutions. As in the open- 
er, the speed of the fan must not be reduced, and 
extra care taken to maintain a free draft. If this 
is not done the cotton will be curled. If, how- 
ever, the fan is speeded too high, the selvages 
will be bad. This will not work well, and we 
know of a mill which put in new sides for the 
lap-head and for the table, thinking that by re- 
ducing the space they would get more even sel- 
vages. All the machine needed was to have cages, 



208 Carding and Spinning. 

screens and dust boxes thoroughly cleaned. This 
should be attended to twice every day. 

Carding. — In order to get good carding, the 
clothing should be of the best quality, fine wire 
and a good many points to the inch. If the mill 
is a new one and built especially for fine work, 
the builders will see that the card has the proper 
clothing. The cylinder should run 120 revolu- 
tions, or at most 130, instead of 165 as for ordi- 
nary work. The doff er should not run over 8 or 
10 turns per minute. The speed of the licker-in 
should be reduced to about 225. The feed roll 
should be drawn off to make it accommodate the 
long cotton. If this is not done, some of the cot- 
ton will be knotted and it will be impossible to 
straighten it out again. Some builders have a 
feed plate designed especially for long cotton. 
The screens and mote knives may be set as usual. 
The top flats may be set at .005 and the doffer at 
.006, provided the floor is sufficiently solid. When 
the floor is not solid, it is impossible to set cards 
as close as they should be. The card should be 
very carefully ground, and ground frequently, 
but not long at a time. More waste will be pro- 
duced than from ordinary cotton, and for this 
reason the cards must be stripped more often. 
They should not all be stripped at one time, but 
every other one only. In about an hour the rest 
may be stripped. The help will not like this 
arrangement, but it makes more even work. 



Carding and Spinning. 209 

Ever^^tliing must be kept scrupulously clean, and 
occasionally the screens should be taken out and 
polished. 

By actual test, the following results were ob- 
tained from carding 16,808 pounds of cotton, put 
through 40 cards: 

Strippings . 907 pounds = 5, 39 per cent. 

Flyings 298 pounds = 1.77 per cent. 

Sweepings 88 pounds = . 53 per cent. 

Card drawing 15,525 pounds = 92.31 per cent. 

The total waste was 7.69 per cent, which is con- 
siderably more than is usually taken from ordi- 
nary cotton. This test was on Peeler cotton, and 
for Sea-Island even more waste is remoyed. The 
average production per card was a little more 
than 70 pounds per day. 

Drawing Frames. — The only items which de- 
serve special mention are those which would nat- 
urally be noticed by a careful overseer. The 
trumpets should be especially noticed. If the 
work has been coarse, the holes in the trumpets 
will be too large for long-staple cotton, which is 
always run lighter than ordinary cotton. The 
writer was once called upon to examine a card- 
room where there was considerable complaint on 
account of cut drawing. It was suggested that 
new trumpets be put in, and soon after every- 
thing was satisfactory. As the rollers are far- 
ther apart than in coarse work, the clearer waste 
must be removed much more frequently, or it will 
14 



210 Carding and Spinning. 

fall down between the rollers and cause bad 
work. 

Twist For Fine Work. — One great trouble many 
mills have is excessive twist in the roving, espec- 
ially is this the case on combed work. If we take 
l|-inch cotton and card it, the average length of 
staple is probably about 1^ inch. If it is combed, 
the average length is not far from If inches, so 
that although we are putting in the same stock 
in either case, there is a great deal of difference 
before we get through. Ordinarily, the twist of 
roving is 1.2 times the square root of the number. 
After we reach 1-inch staple, this should be re- 
duced as the length is increased, and in no case 
should more twist be put in than is absolutely 
necessary to turn the bobbin in the spinning 
frame. 

Flyers, Traverse and Rollers.— in changing 

from coarse to fine work it is sometimes found 
that the noses of the flyers and the fingers of the 
pressers are too large. When good yarn is wanted 
these must be changed. Occasionally the front 
rollers should be disconnected by removing the 
twist gear, and the nose of each flyer be thor- 
oughly polished with emery cloth while the spin- 
dles are running full speed. The top rollers 
must be more carefully covered than for ordinary 
work, and the leather must be put on a firmer 
foundation. As the thread or roving is very 
small in diameter there must be very little cush- 



Carding and Spinning. 211 

ion in the roller, or the weight will be taken en- 
tirely off the stock. For the same reason, the 
roving traverse motion should be carefully looked 
after. It should never be allowed to stand still, 
and should traverse within | inch of the end of 
the roller. In one case, the writer had a double 
thread put on the worm which drives this motion, 
causing the traverse to move twice as fast. The 
result was so satisfactory that the whole room 
was changed. 

Tension. — The tension is one of the things that 
needs especial care. The speeder will run if it 
is too tight, but the result will be disastrous. 
The cones and cone belts should be well looked 
after. The writer has known speeders on line 
work to run bad for days, when all that was 
needed was a clean belt. On fine work, the stock 
is so delicate that very little things often cause 
a great deal of trouble. 

Overseers and Help. — For fine work, every ma- 
chine needs closer attention than for ordinary 
work. An overseer who has to look after too 
many things can not get satisfactory results. He 
must have leisure in which to watch the wOrk 
closely, for difficulties frequently arise which re- 
quire hours and sometimes days to overcome. If 
the overseer does not have the time to look after 
the most minute details, there is almost sure to 
be trouble. Every effort should be made to get 
and keep good help. There are so many things 



212 Casding and Spinning. 

which have to be learned in a fine mill which are 
not learned in other mills, that frequent chang- 
ing of help is a great misfortune. 

Creeling Roving. — Another matter in connection 
with speeders which often escapes attention is 
the method of creeling. For fine work, in order 
to keep the number even, it is necessary to run one 
large and one small bobbin together. There is a 
slight difference in the number of roving on a 
small and large bobbin and a great difference in 
the amount of tension necessary to turn them. 
The writer once had some trouble in getting the 
numbers even on number lOO's, and finally 
changed a pair of speeders to this method of 
creeling. In a few days it was noticed that these 
speeders ran better than the others, and all the 
speeder hands wanted their machines changed 
also. This has about the same effect as running 
bobbins from the front and back row of spindles 
together, as is done in some mills, and is an 
easier way to accomplish the same result. An- 
other matter which has considerable bearing on 
the evenness of numbers is to look well after 
spare roving. The writer once had some 8-hank 
roving piled on the floor, where it remained sev- 
eral weeks. The overseer afterwards sized it and 
reported that it was all 11-hank. Investigation 
showed that the moisture had dried out until the 
outside layers were three numbers lighter than 
those underneath. Spare roving should be kept 



Carding and Spinning. 213 

out of the sunlight, and if practicable, kept in 
well-covered bins. 

Contraction in Twisting. — There is so much 

more twist in fine work that the contraction is 
much more than in coarse work. On a mule this 
is so great that when the spindles are putting in 
the twist at the head, the rollers are made to 
deliver several inches of roving to prevent the 
ends being broken. To a less extent, this is true 
all through the card- and spinning-room, and 
when figuring for any desired draft this must be 
taken into consideration. 

Spindle Bands. — in running fine work it is very 
important to have uniform tension on the bands. 
If some are looser than others there will be a dif- 
ference of twist, and consequently of contraction, 
and this will make a difference in the numbers. 
This will seem a very trivial matter, but the 
writer has had trouble along this very line. To 
test the matter, eight bobbins were put on the 
spinning frame, and after enough yarn had been 
spun, it was found to vary entirely too much. 
After new bands were put on, yarn spun from the 
same roving was much more satisfactory. 

Rings and Traverse. — A mistake which is fre- 
quently made is to attempt to spin fine yarn on 
rings which are too large, or with a long traverse. 
Several years ago a prominent machine builder 
advocated large rings and long traverse in such 
plausible language that many mills were induced 



214 Carding and Spinning. 

to change their rings to larger ones, frequently 
with disastrous results. For spinning 80's, a If" 
ring and f " bobbin should be used. It is a very 
poor place to practice economy by trying to get 
too much yarn on a bobbin. The speed, too, 
should be kept within reasonable limits, about 
9,000 turns being as fast as is desirable. 

One of the features in fine spinning mills which 
should always be observed is to have everything 
as clean as possible. The writer, who had been 
working in a print-cloth mill, well remembers his 
sensations when first entering a mill for fine 
yarn. The first thing which claimed his atten- 
tion was a sign in the picker-room, "One dollar 
fine for spitting on the floor." He noticed too, 
that the floor looked as if the notice had had the 
desired effect. Everything else was in propor- 
tion, and the overseer would not hire a girl who 
came to the mill with a shawl over her head, 
claiming that any one who was neat about their 
dress would also be neat about their work. The 
Clark Thread Company is said to have attractive 
paintings in the spinning-room, claiming that 
they have a wholesome effect on the habits of 
their operatives. Throughout the whole mill the 
machinery should be frequently cleaned, and this 
can not be done too often. Of course it is easier 
to keep a fine mill clean than a coarse one, and 
it is also more necessary. In many fine mills it 
is customary to cover the machinery when the 



Carding and Spinning. 215 

ceiling is swept down, and the pulleys are not 
brushed out with a broom, but carefully wiped 
off by hand when the mill is standing. 

One of the first essentials in making fine work 
is to have a competent engineer. A few dollars 
saved in the equipment of a mill often proves to 
be expensive economy, and nothing should be left 
undone that will have a tendency to make better 
work. Many mill men have become so accus- 
tomed to regard a large production as the most 
desirable achievement in a mill that they are not 
piepared to make fine work, where quality and 
not quantity is the great desideratum. A care- 
ful engineer knows this, and will lay out his ma- 
chinery accordingly. Where it is possible, the 
machinery should be arranged to belt from be- 
low, especially in the weave-room. Not only do 
the belts obstruct the light, but it is impossible to 
prevent oil from being thrown from the hangers 
and getting on the cloth. Where goods are worth 
from 10 to 30 cents a yard, a whole piece being 
sold as seconds on account of oil stains, occa- 
sions a considerable loss. As weave-rooms are 
nearly always on the first floor, it is possible to 
put the shafting underneath by having a base- 
ment. This will cost something, as the basement 
will have to be sprinkled, but it will certainly pay 
in the long run. 

In the preceding pages no mention is made of 
combing, but for numbers finer than 60's the 



216 Carding and Spinning. 

comber is almost always used. Where extra nice 
work is required, they are sometimes used on as 
low as 40's. As their use was somewhat fully 
discussed in a former chapter, we will not go into 
it further at this point. 



INDEX. 

rAGE„ 

Bale breakers 18 

Bands, spindle 213 

Black oil 94, 183 

Breakages , 22 

Builder gears, mules 140 

Cards 81 

Card setting 33 

Cleanliness 215 

Cloudy carding 34 

Combers 59 

Cones not stopping ; 203 

Cone winders 199 

Contraction in twisting , 213 

Cockley yarn , 124 

Cop building 144 

Cop noses 146 

Cops, weight of 139 

Cork-screw yarn , 175 

Cotton 13 

Cotton classification 13 

Cotton contracts i. 15 

Creeling roving 212 

Cut drawing 45, 46 

Cut roving , 88 

Cut yam 122, 150 

Draft of cards 36 

Draft constants, card 38 

Draft constants, drawing frame 52 

Draft constants, fly frames 79, 80 

Draft constants, spinning frame Ill 

Draft of mules 138 

Drawing frames 42, 209 

Double yarn , 173 



218 Index. 

PAGE. 

Electricity 34, 48 

Excessive draft 118 

Excessive speed 118 

Fine yarns 206 

Fires 23, 35 

Flyers 210 

Freight on machinery 30 

Fuzzy yarn 174 

Ginning 16 

Grinding 33 

Hard ends 92 

Help 211 

Kinks 200 

Knots 175, 204 

Laps, uneven 25 

Lean yam 171 

Metallic rollers 43 

Metallic rollers, draft 52 

Mixing 17 

Mule spinning , 134 

Numbering yarn 66 

Openers 18 

Opening cotton 17 

Overseers 211 

Pickers 28 

Poor help , 22 

Price of cards 41 

Price of combers • 65 

Price of cone winders 204 



Index. 219 

PAGE. 

Price of drawing frames 53 

Price of mules , 155 

Price of pickers 29 

Price of reels 184 

Price of ribbon-lap machines 58 

Price of sliver-lap machines 58 

Price of speeders 96 

Price of spinning frames — 132 

Price of twisters 177 

Production of cards , 39 

Production of combers 64 

Production of cone winders 200 

Production of drawing frames 50 

Production of mules 143 

Production of pickers 28 

Production of reels 180 

Production of ribbon-lap machines . 58 

Production of sliver-lap machines 57 

Production of speeders 83 

Production of ispinning frames > 115 

Production of spoolers 158 

Production of warpers 192 

Reels 178 

Ribbon-lap machines 55 

Ring spinning , 99 

Roller gins 16 

Rollers, setting 45 

Rollers, top 210 

Rubbing of cards 34 

Selecting cotton 206 

Setting cards 33 

Settings of combers ., 60 

Setting rollers 44 

Single yam 173 

Slack twist 176 

Sliver-lap machines 55 



220 Index. 

PAGE. 

Slubbers 71 

Speed of beaters 207 

Split laps 20 

^poioling I. .1 156 

Squaring the carriage 151 

Strength of yarn 117 

Tangled bobbin© , 90 

Tangled skeins 182 

Tension of fine roving 211 

Traverse 213 

Twisting , 162 

Twist constant for twisters 168 

Twist constants, yam 107 

Twist of roving 74 

Twist of ply yarn 163 

Twist for fine work 210 

Twist tables 76 

Twist of yarn 140 

Uneven carding 34 

Uneven laps 25 

Varnish for rollers 36 

Warpers 185 

Waste, combers 63 

Waste, spinning-rooim 126, 160 

Waste, pickers 23 

Weak yam 117 

Weight of beams 187 

Weight of oops 139 

Yarn, production 115 

Yarn slipping , — 202 

Yarn, strength of 117 

Yam, twist 104 



The Transmission of Electric Power. 

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This book is everywhere acknowledged to be the authority on the subject 
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Tables for the Denn Warper. 

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This book gives over 1000 combinations of gears, for making cuts from 35 to 
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By G. E. IVEY. Price, $1.25. 

This book is now in its second edition, and is probably the most widely sold 
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This is an advanced treatise on carding and spinning, including mule spin- 
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Sole Makers of Bro-wn's Patent Carding- Rollers for W"ool— give 
Tvoolen yarn a worsted appearance. 

Piatt's Special Machinery for making- Eng-lish and French 
Worsted Yarns. 

Piatt's Special Machinery for making- Cotton Waste into Yarns. 



Also Sole Agent for United States and 
Canada for 

MESSRS. MATHER & PLATT, 

Salford Iron Works, 

MA:N'CHESTER, E:N"GIiA]S"D. 

Bleaching-, Dyeing- and Finishing- Machinery and Archbutt- 
Deeley System of Softening- and Purifying- Hard Water. 

The Best System on the Market. 



Wool Washing- and Drying- Machines. Garnett Machines. 
French and Eng-lish tapping- Machines. Sykes' Card Cloth- 
ing- for Cotton. Critchley's Card Clothing- for ^Voolen and 
Worsted. Yarey's Fallers. Harding-'s Pins and Circles. 
Dronsfield's Grinders and Emery Fillet. Comber Aprons, 
Condenser Aprons, Etc. 



TEXTILE MACHINE ASSOCIATION, Limited, 
Flax, Hemp and Jute Machinery. 



GEORGE lilODGSON, Limited, Bradford, 
Looms for Worsteds. Etc. 



THE AUTOMATIC FEED!>iG MACHINE COMPANY, 
Feeders for Fibres of all Classes. 



Saco & Pettee Machine Shops 

BUILDERS OF 

Improved Cotton Machinery^ 

SHOPS AT 

Newton Upper Fata.s, Mass.; Biddkford, Maine. 

A. H. WASHBURN, Southern Agent. 
Charlotte, N. C. 

WE MAKE 

Automatic Feeders, Openers, Breakers, Intermediates, Finishers, 

Revolving: Flat Cards, RailTvay Heads, Drawing's Frames, 

Slutolbers, Intermediates, Roving- Frames, Spinning 

Frames, Spoolers, Etc. 

All parts are made on Special Tools, and are exact 
duplicates. 

CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. 



■■"■" tyiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiw 



A H 

^* * CHARLOTTE, 

WASHBURN N°^™ CAROLINA. 




COTTON 



and EQUIPMENT. 

Write for prices and 
estimates. 

Everything needed for the complete equipment of Cotton 
Mills to Manufacture 

YARNS AND WOVEN FABRICS. 

Selling Hamilton Corliss Engines, Water Tube and Return 

Tubular Boilers. Contracts taken for Steam Plants 

complete, erected. 




Bneqtxalled in Efficiency, 

Simple in Construction, 

Strong and durable in all its Parts. 



HUNDREDS 
USED IN 

TEXTILE 
MILLS. 



If Interested in Water Power Development, 
Write for large Illustrated Catalogue. 



. MORGAN SMITH 
COMPANY, 



YORK. PA. 



